Kurt's Playlist
by frostym
Summary: One-shots starring the incomparable Kurt Hummel. Each one inspired by a different song in true Glee fashion. Rated M for a reason, specific warnings in each chapter but generally smutty throughout. Accepting prompts from my lovely readers. All pairings, kinks, and genres accepted. Latest chapter: Kurtbastian with blind!kurt.
1. Enchanted

[I don't own Glee, any of the songs referenced or lyrics quoted, nor am I making any profit from my spring-boarding off of other people's creative works with my own.]

"Enchanted"

[Kurt never went to Dalton to spy and thus never met Blaine in Ohio. Unless expressly stated, all of the events not including Blaine happened as they did in the show. The first scene takes place during season 4 episode 20 "Lights Out".]

"I can't thank you enough for this, Coop. The ballet was breathtaking." Blaine gushed, practically jogging alongside his brother to keep pace with his long strides as they made their way out of the Met.

"Just try not to embarrass me at the gala, squirt." Cooper said, eyes scanning the crowd of beautiful people over his brother's head. Blaine was so excited that he couldn't even be cross over being called 'squirt'. "I can't be the free credit report guy forever and the lucky person to discover my potential might be in this room."

"How did you even get an invite?" Blaine asked, awed by his surroundings. His parents may have been wealthy but Ohio country clubs were a far cry from the glitz and glamor of the New York fashion elite.

"Anna is a fan." Cooper replied casually, not clarifying that he meant one of the vogue dot com collaborators and not the editor in chief of Vogue herself. His bragging had the opposite of its intended effect, making his brother roll his eyes in exasperation. "Try not to gape too much, Blainers. This is going to be your scene soon."

"I toured a few campuses, Coop. Even if I get in and come here, I'll hardly be getting a lot of use out of my tux." Blaine replied, needlessly adjusting his perfectly knotted bow tie.

"Maybe not at first, but you've got the Anderson charm and—well, not all of the looks but you'll do just fine. Besides, with a famous family member there's instant name recognition. Worked for Charlie Sheen and Miley Cyrus." Cooper said in a way that he must have thought was reassuring and fraternal given how pleased he looked with himself.

"Given how that's turned out for them I think I'll change my name to Estavez." Blaine said.

"Why would you do that? Mom's maiden name is Tan." Cooper said, as usual completely unable to read the sarcasm or frustration in Blaine's tone.

Once they reached the bar Blaine almost immediately found himself abandoned as Cooper schmoozed his way through the crowd. He sipped his sparkling water, having refused Cooper's offer of a beer even though he was underage. Flashes of a very sketchy evening and a very awkward morning with his teammate Sebastian last year came to mind and made his cheeks pink with remembered mortification.

Kurt's smile was plastic and the warmth of his laughter didn't reach his eyes as he chuckled at yet another of Rachel's anecdotes. He wondered what he had been thinking, bringing his roommates to a work function. Now he was stuck in a cluster of women all clucking at stories of Isabel's protege when he was just a wee gay with a chip on his shoulder singing in his high school glee club.

This was his life since he and Adam had split up. School, work, home...surrounded by women all of whom wanted to talk at him or about him but never to him. Three years ago it wouldn't have bothered him in the least but this was New York. He had always imagined that the city would be filled with people just like him and they would all be drawn together by some fabulous magnet making them instant friends. He adored Isabel and he really had enjoyed his time with the Adam's Apples but he had hardly found the connection he was looking for.

"And you should have seen the way he threw himself at my boyfriend. Well, he wasn't my boyfriend yet but really it was inevitable. Of course we aren't together now but-" Rachel prattled on and Kurt looked around the room hopelessly for a way out. If he was lucky maybe someone would be choking on a canape or have their hideously flammable dress catch fire spontaneously and free him from this hell.

Perhaps it was the awkward way he was standing by himself, a head shorter than the glamazon models clustered on either side of him. Or maybe it was the flush on his olive cheeks and the far away look in those eyes. _Brown? No, hazel. _Whatever it was about the adorable boy that made him stand out in a sea of beautiful people, Kurt found himself staring quite blatantly the minute his eyes fell on the younger man.

Blaine was scanning the room uncomfortably and caught Kurt's gaze. He immediately turned, expecting to see someone incredibly famous behind him. Kurt giggled at the endearing gesture and then panicked when the man turned back around slowly to find his eyes again. _Shit, now he thinks I'm a weird creepy stalker but if I look away then he'll know I'm a weird creepy stalker._

Blaine smiled slowly. The beautiful man with Isabel Wright was staring at him! His smile turned into a grin as the realization sank in and he began to catalog the man's features, finding them shockingly familiar. From the poised posture and the way that tuxedo clung to his shoulders and trim waist he thought the man must be a model that he'd seen in a magazine. Certainly he'd remember if they'd ever met before.

The Latina next to the modelesque man said something which make him pull a face and make what Blaine was certain had to be a snappy comeback. His eyes kept darting back to Blaine so the younger man gathered up all of his courage and started to walk over.

Kurt wanted to squeal with joy when he saw the man approaching him. _God, the way he moves_. Kurt could only think of the first time he'd seen a James Bond movie and enjoyed it for entirely different reasons than his dad as the dapper man with perfect hair and an expertly tailored tuxedo prowled towards him, drink in hand.

The walk across the room seemed to take forever but when they were finally face to face Kurt panicked again.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Blaine asked earnestly.

"That's the best you could come up with on the walk over?" Kurt replied automatically.

"It was a pretty short walk." Blaine answered back just as quickly though a touch of embarrassment at his unintentional cliche showed in his blush.

"Really, it seemed to take ages to me." Kurt breathed the words.

"Sorry to keep you waiting for me." Blaine said.

"All my life." Kurt smirked.

"Wow I'm really late. Not very gentlemanly of me." Blaine said, not looking the least bit apologetic.

"I'd consider forgiving you if you asked nicely." Kurt cocked his head slightly. The two of them had fallen into flirtatious banter so easily that all of his nerves had immediately dissipated.

Blaine smiled dopily and Kurt beamed back. "Let's try that again. I'm Blaine." He extended his hand after swapping his drink to his other.

"Kurt. Enchanté." The taller man answered, taking his hand and shaking it palm down. Blaine marveled at the softness of his skin and held on a few seconds longer than necessary.

"Le plaisir est pour moi." Blaine said in cute pigeon French scraped together from his classes. It was Kurt's turn to blush. "It wasn't a line, though. I do recognize you." Blaine added after finally releasing his hand.

"From where?" Kurt asked, certain that if he'd seen a man like this he'd remember. "I just moved here over last summer so..."

"Oh no, I meant from your work. Probably a magazine or something." Blaine said quickly.

Kurt laughed brightly and the sound made Blaine's toes curl in his shoes. "Now that's quite the line." He said.

"You're not a model?" Blaine blinked owlishly.

"Not even a little. I work for Isabelle." Kurt said, leaving out the part where he was an unpaid intern. It sounded a lot less sexy.

"Oh! Sorry! I'm here with my brother. Actor, networking, you know that whole thing." Blaine said.

"Unfortunately, I do. What about you? Do you act?" Kurt asked, having a mini fantasy of Blaine filmed in black and white looking very dashing.

"Uh, no. Not really. I mean, yeah a bit. I sing, though mostly. And play a few instruments. Mainly piano. Mom insisted." Blaine said, realizing that he was rambling a bit. He smiled and looked down at his shoes.

"Really? I sing, too. That's my dream. Broadway." Kurt sighed.

"Yeah? I'll bet you have a beautiful voice. I mean, I like your speaking voice so...I...yeah." Blaine laughed at himself. He was a senior in high school from nowhere Ohio trying to flirt with some New York City fashion big shot with Broadway chops. _I should probably quit now._

"Thank you." Kurt said, smiling broadly instead of his usual tight lipped grin. He looked up through his eyelashes and Blaine was struck dumb by those bright blue green irises. They stared at each other for a long, breathless moment before Isabelle's voice snapped Kurt out of his lovestruck haze.

"Kurt, honey? I need you over here. I can't make heads or tails of this seating chart." Isabelle called out.

"Duty calls." Kurt said, clasping his hands together and half bowing as he backed away. "I'll see you around?"

"Uh yeah. Definitely." Blaine said. For the rest of the night he only caught glimpses of Kurt as the taller man rushed here or there, making certain that the major event went off flawlessly. Every time he saw that perfectly coiffed tower of hair over someone's head his stomach would do somersaults but Kurt never stayed still long enough for Blaine to approach him again until after the party.

"Come on, squirt. I need my beauty sleep." Cooper groaned, half hanging out of the cab.

"Just one more minute, Coop." Blaine said, rocking up on the balls of his feet anxiously as he looked at the guests leaving.

"Blaine. In the cab or you're sleeping here. Come on." Cooper said, forcing Blaine to turn away from the doors with his shoulders slumped.

When Isabelle finally let Kurt go the first thing he did was scan the few remaining stragglers, looking for the man that had been clouding his mind all night.

"What's wrong, Kurt? Forget something?" Rachel asked, putting her arms around his waist.

"Yeah, the number of that douchey looking guy he was making eyes at." Santana chimed in.

"He did not look douchey, whatever that even means!" Kurt said defensively.

"Who?" Rachel asked, wide eyed.

"Come on, lady lips. He had on so much hair gel I could smell it from across the room. What kind of head pube disaster is he trying to hide under that raspberry mess?" Santana said.

"He was gorgeous." Kurt said, nose in the air. "And he smelled just fine."

"What did I miss?" Rachel asked insistently. Her roommates continued to ignore her in favor of arguing with one another.

"Aaand he's not here so can we make the four thousand mile trek back to Bushwick now?" Santana asked.

* * *

Kurt rolled over and punched Bruce, his boyfriend pillow, into a more comfortable shape. He stared at his cell phone, willing it to ring as his head swirled with memories of bashful smiles and warm eyes and quick witted remarks. _But you didn't give him your number. Or your last name. Or anything. Oh the things I'd give him. He probably has a boyfriend. How could he not have a boyfriend?_ Kurt groaned, picking up his phone for the dozenth time, just in case. He stood up and paced nervously, chewing on a stray cuticle. The clock on the lock screen taunted him, reading 2:00am and nothing else. No messages. No calls. No Blaine. He set himself a reminder to schedule a manicure and fell back onto the bed only to jump up again and repeat the motions a few minutes later.

He heard the knock on the massive front door of the loft and pushed his brows together, pulling back the curtain to his bedroom. Neither Santana nor Rachel stirred so he assumed they weren't expecting anyone and he certainly wasn't. He decided to tell whoever it was to piss off before they woke up and started pestering him some more about Blaine. He got close enough to the door that whoever was on the other side would be able to hear him without him raising his voice too loudly. "Whoever you are, we aren't interested. Please leave."

"Kurt?" An anxious voice answered back after a brief pause. Kurt yelped and nearly tripped over his own feet reaching the door and unlocking it. He slid the heavy wooden door open and stared in disbelief. Blaine was standing in his hallway, still wearing his tuxedo. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone and his tie hung loose around his collar, revealing his Adam's apple bobbing nervously.

"How did you-? What-? I-?" Kurt stood there and stammered in his silky pajamas, utterly shocked.

"I forgot something." Blaine said, still looking anxious but having summoned enough courage to take a step forward.

"Oh?" Kurt said, his voice impossibly high even for him.

"Tonight was like a fairy tale." Blaine said. "And those always end with a goodnight kiss. And a big wedding, but we can wait until we have one another's last names for that if you want." He smirked.

"Screw last names." Kurt said breathlessly, rushing forward into Blaine's arms. The shorter man responded immediately, pulling him tight against his firm chest. Kurt's hand came up to cup Blaine's cheek and tilt his head up just so before their lips crashed together in a kiss straight from Kurt's fantasies. Passionate but not rough, deep without being messy. Their lips moved against one another, parting simultaneously to allow for the gentle slide of tongue on tongue as Blaine's hands fisted around Kurt's pajama top.

When they broke apart to take a breath Kurt was dizzy, wondering how long they'd been kissing and how Blaine could look even sexier with moist, red lips and those lovely, hazel eyes blown black. "I'd love to take you out tomorrow night, Kurt. May I?" Blaine asked, ever the gentleman.

"Yes. Please." Kurt whimpered, fearing that this was Blaine saying goodnight.

"Good." Blaine grinned again and then dropped his tone a bit lower. "Can I...could we stay in tonight?" He asked with that boyish nervousness that Kurt found so endearing.

"Fuck, yes. _Please._" Kurt's whimper was quite different this time and the sound of it went straight to Blaine's groin. He rocked up onto his toes to kiss Kurt forcefully and started to walk him backwards. When Kurt's hips hit the resistance of the back of his arm chair Blaine pressed against him fully, letting him feel his arousal.

Blaine rutted against Kurt's thigh, groaning needfully into his lover's mouth as his hands slid down Kurt's back. His palms mapped the hard planes of his body through the silky fabric before reaching his waistband. His fingertips slipped under the elastic and slid over smooth, firm skin. He inched his way downward until he could get two handfuls of Kurt's ass, squeezing firmly and pulling him forward just a bit, silently declaring his intentions. Kurt quickly decided that clothes and words were totally unnecessary.

In a flash he was nude and his body was being pressed into his own mattress as though his thoughts had just been made reality. As he felt the scrape of Blaine's stubble and the slide of his silky tongue down his torso he felt like another fantasy was coming true. "Blaine." He gasped the name aloud as that tongue traced the dip in his abs to his belly button before mouthing over his slightly protruding hip bones. Blaine grinned against the skin of his upper thigh before dragging his lips over the rigid cock sticking straight up from its nest of neatly trimmed hair. Kurt squirmed under the touch and then cried out in surprise when he was engulfed in wet heat. He lost himself in the pure pleasure of it, for once not caring about how he looked or sounded as he keened and writhed beneath Blaine's mouth and hands. He heard the snap of a bottle opening and his breath caught in his throat, not even wondering where the lube had come from. "God, Blaine...yes. Please hurry, I need you inside me. I-" *_Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight_* "What? Who's playing that?" _*I need help believing, you're with me tonight* _"Blaine? Where'd you go?" *_My wildest dreamings, could not foresee*_

Kurt opened his eyes and stared at his bedroom ceiling in the mid-morning light. "Shit." He groaned and lifted his cell phone off of his chest and swiped his thumb across the screen to silence the song that was his alarm. He slid a hand down and palmed himself through his pants, stretching his aching erection and groaning—though from pleasure, embarrassment, or the fact that he now had a precum stain on his expensive pajamas he wasn't sure.

He contemplated bringing himself off to the fresh memories of Blaine's tongue and eyes and—no. He wasn't going to indulge in yet another silly, hopeless crush. He wasn't going to give Rachel and Santana more fodder for ridicule. He stood up and ignored his protruding erection as he went about collecting his things for a cold shower followed by what he was certain would be a exceptionally shitty day.

* * *

"You're sure about this place?" Nick asked, looking around the dimly lit piano bar skeptically. The crowd was pretty respectable but he wasn't sure how he felt about a band with such a ridiculous name.

"Callbacks? It's practically an institution. How better to celebrate being finally moved in and unpacked?" Jeff grinned, slinging his arms over the shoulders of his two roommates and fellow students. Blaine had been admitted to NYADA, his first choice school, while Jeff was attending NYU and "And this band is supposed to be awesome."

"What was it called again?" Blaine asked.

"Pamela Landsbury." A tall, dark haired man with an impressive amount of eyeliner rimming his bright eyes said. He was standing at the bar sipping water and wearing bright colored, well tailored clothes that seemed completely out of sync with his personal style and yet somehow worked.

"Yeah, I'd love to hear how they came up with that one." Nick snorted.

"Actually, it was one of our band members-Rachel." Elliott said with a smooth smile. "But the band was Kurt's idea." He hesitated. "And the outfits. I'm Elliott."

Jeff started joking with the taller man about his wardrobe but Blaine stopped listening the minute he said 'Kurt'. It had been six months but he hadn't stopped secretly carrying a torch for the man he'd met briefly on his last visit to New York. In fact, though he'd been planning on moving to New York after graduation anyway he had to admit, if only to himself, that a small part of his enthusiasm was the romantic notion that he and Kurt might find each other again and get a chance to finish what they'd started.

His eyes scanned the crowd but it wasn't hard to find Kurt. Firstly, he was wearing the same neon themed wardrobe that Elliott was, and secondly he was just as mesmerizing as Blaine remembered. Maybe even more so because Blaine had been dreaming of this moment for months. Elliott saw the awestruck look on Blaine's face and chuckled. He'd seen a few guys make eyes at Kurt but never one as sweet and so obviously his friend's type as this. "Hey, Kurt. Come say hi." Elliott called out, waving over his friend. Kurt approached, half-genuine smile in place before he caught sight of Blaine.

_It is Blaine, isn't it? Good God, am I going insane? Is this another dream? Fuck, he's even wearing a bow tie...with a polo. Who does that?_ Kurt's thoughts raced rapid fire through his mind as his legs took him towards the group of young men without his consent.

"Kurt, this is Jeff, and Nick and...?" Elliott gestured to the men in turn, lingering on Blaine and realizing he hadn't asked his name.

"Blaine." Kurt breathed. "I don't know if you remember me. I'm-"

"Kurt. Enchanted. I remember." Blaine said dumbly, grinning holding out his hand for Kurt's.

"Pinch me." Kurt demanded.

"I'm sorry?" Blaine blinked.

"This has to be a dream." Kurt said.

"Now who has the cheesy lines?" Blaine smirked.

"Why do I feel like we're missing something?" Nick asked.

"We are. Our own show." Elliott said when he saw Santana waving at them and Rachel tapping her foot impatiently. "Kurt, we've got to go."

"I've got to go. Sing, I mean." Kurt said, looking a bit panicked. "Don't run away?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Blaine said emphatically. Kurt's expression relaxed just a bit as he began to genuinely believe that he wasn't going crazy. "But just to be sure..." Blaine reached out and gently pinched Kurt's arm. Kurt jumped and giggled. "Good, you're real. Now that we've got that out of the way, would you like to go out sometime? Any time? Tonight?" Blaine asked eagerly.

"Lady Lips, Glitter Stick...let's go!" Santana shouted.

"Out. With you. Yes. Oh, yes. I mean, sure." Kurt stammered.

"Wow. This is painful to watch." Nick whispered.

"Yeah. So why do they look so stupidly happy?" Jeff replied.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Elliott said before dragging Kurt off towards the stage.

"What the hell was that?" Nick demanded.

"Happily ever after." Blaine said with a lopsided smile.

* * *

"Enchanted" by Taylor Swift

There I was again tonight  
Forcing laughter, faking smiles  
Same old tired lonely place

Walls of insincerity,  
Shifting eyes and vacancy  
Vanished when I saw your face

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you

Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"  
Across the room your silhouette  
Starts to make its way to me  
The playful conversation starts  
Counter all your quick remarks  
Like passing notes in secrecy

And it was enchanting to meet you  
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you

The lingering question kept me up  
2 AM, who do you love?  
I wonder 'til I'm wide awake  
And now I'm pacing back and forth  
Wishing you were at my door  
I'd open up and you would say, "Hey,  
It was enchanting to meet you,  
All I know is I was enchanted to meet you."

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
This night is flawless, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you

This is me praying that  
This was the very first page  
Not where the story line ends  
My thoughts will echo your name  
Until I see you again  
These are the words I held back  
As I was leaving too soon  
I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you  
Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
This night is flawless, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you


	2. St Patrick's Day

"**St. Patrick's Day"**

[This story is from a song prompt I received: John Mayer's "St. Patrick's Day" with domestic Kurt and Sebastian, so here goes.

Canon compliant. Warnings for m/m sex, brief mention of Klaine and hints at Kelliot/Starkurt but it's a Kurtbastian fic. Bitter-sweet ending, so you've been warned about that, too.

If anyone has prompts or song ideas feel free to PM me or post them in a review. Thanks for reading!]

* * *

**September**

Kurt took a deep breath and dropped his spoon into the half-eaten tub of mint chocolate chip. His hand trembled just a bit when he reached out of his blanket cocoon to the touch-pad of his laptop. He navigated his browser to his profile page and hovered over his relationship status for an agonizingly long moment. His hand looked naked without his ring.

Kurt Hummel has changed his relationship status to Single.

He exhaled with a soft 'whoosh' and wrapped the blankets tighter around himself, staring through his screen rather than at it as he considered what other fattening treats might be hidden in his kitchen cupboards. The message notification refocused his eyes and he clicked it open.

Sebastian Smythe: Well that was fast.

Kurt's eyebrows scrunched together. When had he even friended Sebastian? Probably sometime after Dave's hospitalization but the two of them certainly didn't chit chat. He couldn't think of a person he felt less like speaking to right now. Kurt's hands snuck out again to type a quick reply.

Kurt Hummel: Just don't.

Sebastian Smythe: Relax, Princess. Just wanted to offer my condolences. Though I can't say I'm surprised.

Kurt Hummel: Because he secretly wanted you all along?

Sebastian Smythe: Did he? I knew it!

Kurt Hummel: I'm going now. He's all yours.

Sebastian Smythe: Wait, we're not joking are we?

Kurt Hummel: Do we ever?

Sebastian Smythe: So you really think I look like a meerkat?

Kurt Hummel: …

Sebastian Smythe: Ignoring that. I just meant that being engaged at eighteen may not have been the best of ideas.

Kurt Hummel: Weren't you there doo wopping in the background while we was proposing?

Sebastian Smythe: Just because it was a really bad idea doesn't mean that I wasn't rooting for you two.

Sebastian Smythe: Or that I was willing to miss seeing Blaine's face if you said no. Especially in that ridiculous yellow suit. Sad banana.

Kurt laughed aloud at that, putting his hand over his mouth when he realized that he wasn't supposed to be laughing. He was supposed to be eating his weight in terrible foods and listening to sad songs on repeat.

Kurt Hummel: You're too much, Sebastian.

Sebastian Smythe: That's what he said.

Kurt Hummel: Ugh, you're such a frat boy.

Sebastian Smythe: Technically I'm just a pledge.

Kurt Hummel: Not a bit surprised. Where did you end up?

Sebastian Smythe: Little placed called Columbia. You may have heard of it.

Kurt Hummel: Bring me back some coffee.

Sebastian Smythe: ...you're joking again, right?

Kurt Hummel: Yes. I'm just glad that I live in the boonies. Less of a chance of running into each other.

Sebastian Smythe: We could run into each other on purpose sometime.

Kurt Hummel: Why?

Sebastian Smythe: I'm dying to see if working in fashion has made your terrible wardrobe worse or better.

Kurt Hummel: Goodbye, Sebastian.

Sebastian Smythe: Later, Princess.

**October**

Sebastian looked up from his small table and fixed his trademark smirk in place as Kurt walked in, cheeks flushed from the chill. "You're late, again. Couldn't decide what heels to wear?" He joked as Kurt approached him.

"You need some new material." Kurt dead panned.

"And you need some new clothes." Sebastian reached out and adjusted Kurt's baby blue scarf. "Men's clothes, maybe?" Kurt swatted his hand away and rolled his eyes.

"I need caffeine if you're going to keep this up." Kurt said, looking at the mile-long line with a frown.

"Grande non-fat mocha. Would have been hot if you were on time." Sebastian said, handing him one of the cups from his table.

"You...you know my coffee order." Kurt said, eyes wide with shock and just a bit of sadness.

"Uh, yeah. We've pretty much exclusively interacted in coffee shops for years now." Sebastian said. "What's the big deal? I'm not that oblivious."

"No, it's just Blaine..." Kurt wrapped his fingers around the warm cup and sunk down into the chair opposite Sebastian's, "it reminds me of Blaine."

"Oh. Sorry." Sebastian said uncomfortably. "Well, I can start ordering the wrong thing if it'll make you feel better. How about a venti white chocolate crème frapp with extra whip? Put some love handles on you."

Kurt felt an embarrassingly high giggle bubble forth and he slapped Sebastian's arm. That was why he kept coming to these little coffee dates. Even if all they did was trade barbs it was the only time Kurt laughed any more.

"Kurt, are you ever going to tell me what happened between you two?" Sebastian asked, smirk replaced with genuine concern for just a moment.

"I thought I could get over the cheating thing. I did. But Blaine couldn't." Kurt said, setting down his coffee and keeping his eyes fixed on the table between them.

"What do you mean? He cheated _again_?" Sebastian said, his tone tinged with disgust.

"Would that bother you so much, Mr. has-relationships-in-twenty-minute-intervals?" Kurt asked, looking up at Sebastian through his lashes.

"Exactly. I don't have relationships. But if I did, I'd never cheat. If you want to cheat, why the hell are you in a relationship?" Sebastian said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kurt blinked a few times. "Well, yeah...exactly. But um, no. He didn't cheat again."

"Then what happened?" Sebastian prodded.

"He just couldn't believe that I'd forgiven him, I guess. He became really suspicious of everything, like he was sure that I was going to try to even the score. You know Elliott? From my band?" Kurt asked. Sebastian made a little animalistic noise of approval that made Kurt roll his eyes yet again. "Well he's been jealous of him since before he even graduated, all because of one stupid—and totally innocent—picture. And I thought it'd be better when he moved out here but every time I left the loft he asked a million questions and texted me constantly. And it just snowballed from there." Kurt shook his head. "I didn't do anything wrong but I was the one paying for what _he_ did. Eventually it was just too much."

"Hm." Sebastian hummed over the lid of his coffee. "Well, you can't be with someone who doesn't trust you."

"Coming from the relationship expert." Kurt smirked just a little. Surprisingly, he felt much better having told someone who had actually taken his side, even if it was just Sebastian.

"Hey, my mom watches Dr. Phil. It's hard not to pick up a few things." Sebastian said. "Are you going to get back together?" He asked carefully.

"No." Kurt said quickly. "No, I can't go through all of that again. I just miss having him as a friend, y'know? Who am I supposed to tell about the ongoing Rachel and Santana drama?"

"What's up with short stack and hood rat?" Sebastian asked.

"You don't have to pretend to care, Sebastian." Kurt said dismissively.

"Are either of them really unhappy? Because if so I definitely need to hear." Sebastian said, smirk in full bloom. That earned him another ear piercing giggle from Kurt.

"All right, so Santana became Rachel's understudy last Spring..."

**November**

"How was your Thanksgiving?" Kurt asked, slipping into the booth across from Sebastian at the Lima Bean and sliding him his cappuccino without noticing how Seb smiled at the gesture.

"Exactly what I expected." Sebastian said, his tone flat and his smile fading.

"Your dad wasn't thrilled with the major change, huh?" Kurt said sympathetically.

"Pre-law to photography? Uh, no, less than thrilled I'd say." Sebastian said. "I have to find a new apartment when I get back."

"What!?" Kurt nearly spilled his mocha down the front of his Givenchy watercolour button down. "He's cutting you off?"

"Only sort of." Sebastian said. "I'll still have my trust fund when I'm 23 and I'm on a Lacrosse scholarship but yeah, he's not paying for the apartment in Clinton any more."

"Okay, I work two jobs—one of which doesn't pay—and live in Bushwick _and _have to pay for school. You're making it really hard to feel sorry for you..." Kurt said.

"I'm not asking you to." Sebastian snapped.

"Sorry." Kurt said softly. "Listen...Santana is visiting Brittany in Cambridge for the hols if you need a place to stay."

Sebastian's expression was unreadable. "You're saying that I can crash at your place?"

"Well, yeah. Until you find a new apartment." Kurt said. "Besides, I can't come home next month and I'll have the loft to myself. No one wants to be alone at Christmas." He smiled. "Just no twenty-minute dates on my sofa."

"You don't really think I bring them home with me, do you? That's what bathroom stalls are for." Sebastian said.

"Ew. No, firstly _that_ is not what they're for and secondly, please never tell me about your sex life again." Kurt said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Feel free to tell me about yours any time. I could use a laugh." Sebastian teased, nudging Kurt's foot with his under the table.

**December**

"So your family really does this every Christmas Eve?" Sebastian asked, reaching over Kurt's head to hang an ornament on a high branch of the medium sized tree they had scraped together their money to afford.

"Yeah. When does yours decorate their tree?" Kurt asked, sprinkling tinsel over the boughs.

"Um, whenever the housekeepers do it? I've never paid attention." Sebastian said.

"That's depressing." Kurt said. "So what's a Christmas tradition from your family, then?"

"My father always has a party for his campaign officials, if it's an election year, and the rest of the douche bags in the DA's office." Sebastian explained.

"That sounds...fun." Kurt said, giving Sebastian a sidelong look.

"I wouldn't know. I'm always coincidentally out that night." Sebastian smirked. "Scandals has a Christmas tree, too, y'know. They decorate it with condoms. Most of them aren't even used."

"Safety first, I suppose." Kurt said. In the month they'd been living together he'd grown even more immune to Sebastian's crude humour. He flicked the last strings of tinsel off of his fingers and walked away from the tree for a moment, disappearing behind the curtain that led to his bedroom. He emerged a moment later with a foil package between his fingers.

"What's that?" Sebastian asked, eyebrows at his hairline.

"If you don't know then you're in serious trouble." Kurt said.

"I know what it is, Princess. Why do you have it?" Sebastian asked, a slight flush creeping up from beneath the collar of his plaid button down.

"I'm going to try not to be offended by that." Kurt said, his expression pinched.

"_In the living room. _Why do you have it in the living room?" Sebastian said. Kurt picked up one of the wire ornament hooks and poked a hole through the edge of the wrapper before twisting it shut. He handed the makeshift ornament to Sebastian.

"In honour of your Christmas traditions." Kurt smiled and Sebastian accidentally on purpose brushed their fingertips when he reached for the condom, carefully watching Kurt's reaction. When his cheeks pinked slightly Sebastian's smile widened. He placed the condom on the tree and then reached for the star that would go on the highest bough. "You should do it." Kurt said.

"Because I'm always on top?" Sebastian grinned wolfishly.

"Because you can reach. But if that's your logic then I'll do it." Kurt said, trying to snatch the ornament back.

"Oh, really?" Sebastian's eyes sparkled and he held the star up above Kurt's head, using his height to his advantage. "Tell me more."

"If you want to hear what Blaine is like in bed, ask his new boyfriend. My lips are sealed." Kurt said, stretching his lean body to reach for the star.

"It wasn't him I was curious about." Sebastian said, panicking just a little when he realized that Kurt could read entirely too much into his sentence.

"Yeah, like I'm giving you anything else to make fun of me for." Kurt said, fingertips brushing Sebastian's wrist as he scrambled for the star. When he realized his attempts were fruitless he dropped back onto his heels and smoothed down his shirt. Sebastian mourned the loss of the little sliver of pale skin between his waistband and the hem of his shirt when he stretched.

"We should do it together." Sebastian said.

"I'm sorry?" Kurt looked flustered and Sebastian loved it when he managed that.

"The star. Come here." Sebastian decided to press his advantage, turning Kurt around to face the tree and handing him the star. He looped his arm around Kurt's narrow hips and lifted the other man easily, his chest pressed firmly to his back. Kurt let out a little gasp of shock and Sebastian laughed. "Or would you rather it the other way around?" He asked.

"This...this is fine." Kurt croaked, trying to ignore the subtext. "Just a little higher." Sebastian lifted Kurt until he could easily put the star on top of the tree and angle it just so. He set Kurt back on his feet and pulled away immediately, leaving Kurt standing next to the tree awkwardly with scarlet cheeks and a confused expression. Sebastian plugged in the string of lights and then flicked off the switch to the lamp in the living room. The two of them stood back to admire their work. From a distance the gold foil wrapper even looked like a real ornament.

"Merry Christmas, Kurt." Sebastian said, wrapping his arm around Kurt's shoulders. All of the innuendo had suddenly vanished and they were back to being friends, which left Kurt feeling off kilter.

"Merry Christmas, Seb." Kurt said.

"Are you going to make me sing carols?" Sebastian asked apprehensively.

"You know it." Kurt grinned, resting his head on Sebastian's shoulder.

**January**

"I'm surprised that you're staying in. I would have thought you'd be at one of those crazy shirtless New Years parties at the clubs downtown." Kurt said, setting a large salad bowl and another of a steaming pasta dish on the table. Sebastian was setting cutlery down on the pretty linens Kurt had covered his flea market dining table with for the occasion.

"What do you know about big gay shirtless dance parties, Princess?" Sebastian teased, deflecting from answering the implied question. The two of them moved around each other like their actions were choreographed, one man filling their water glasses while the other poured a dry white wine—Sebastian's choice—that paired well with the simple, garlicky pasta sauce that Kurt had whipped up.

"I watched Queer as Folk. I'll admit, I'm relieved that you haven't drug me to anything like that." Kurt said. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time Sebastian had actually gone out to a club. It had been weeks.

"Not your scene. I respect that." Sebastian said. "Besides, looking after you all night would be a buzz kill. Those men would eat you alive."

"That doesn't sound entirely unpleasant." Kurt said with a tiny smile. Sebastian frowned behind the door of the refrigerator where he was putting away the sparkling water and wine while Kurt lit the candles that completed his tablescape. They sat across from one another and Kurt tried his query again. "So why are you staying in tonight? It's your first New Years in New York."

Sebastian shrugged broad shoulders beneath his eggplant purple dress shirt. They had decided to dress up for the occasion and for a silly twist the two had agreed to let the other pick their outfit. Sebastian was in trousers that were quite a bit too tight for his liking and a skinny emerald green tie (he had drawn the line at bow ties, not wanting anything to remind Kurt of Blaine tonight). 'I look like the joker' he had complained. 'The joker wishes he dressed this well. And the colours bring out your eyes' Kurt had replied. Sebastian remembered their day of picking outfits and grocery shopping together with a smile. He couldn't remember a better New Years Eve. "I didn't have anywhere better to be." He answered vaguely, sipping his wine.

"How sweet." Kurt rolled his eyes, dishing up the pasta for both of them. He was wearing a simple black suit with a white shirt unbuttoned at the collar. 'You're always too buttoned up. You need to relax.' Sebastian had said, taking away his waistcoat, tie, and brooch. 'No layers? No accessories?' Kurt pouted. The expression had worked because Seb had acquiesced on the brooch. After all, he wouldn't look like Kurt without accessories and he found lately that he really liked how Kurt looked.

Sebastian's eyes flickered from the ridiculous animal pinned to Kurt's lapel up to his face and he chuckled to himself. "So, tell me more about this project you're working on for Isabelle." He asked with genuine interest as they both tucked into their meals.

The minutes until midnight were ticking by and the two men raised their plastic champagne flutes, clinking them together and laughing at the decidedly unglamorous sound. "Any resolutions?" Sebastian asked.

"Less cheesecake, more cardio." Kurt said after taking a sip of the bubbly liquid. "I've gained quite a few pounds this year."

"And not an ounce of it is fat. Dance classes, it happens." Sebastian replied. "You look great, Kurt. You don't need to change a thing."

Kurt dipped his head to unsuccessfully hide his blush. "What about you?"

"I look great, too." Sebastian smirked.

"No, you idiot. I mean what about your resolution?" Kurt giggled.

"I started early. I quit smoking." Sebastian said.

"When? Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt said excitedly. He had complained about Sebastian's smoking when they'd first started hanging out.

"About a month now. Right after I moved in. Figured you'd appreciate it. Not stinking up your loft and all." Sebastian said, watching Kurt intently. "But you didn't notice."

"I did so! I just thought you weren't smoking in the flat. I didn't realize that you'd quit altogether. Seb, that's great. I'm proud of you." Kurt beamed and it made Sebastian feel entirely too warm.

"Yeah." Sebastian agreed, glancing at the clock. "One minute." He downed the rest of his champagne for courage and then took a step closer. "So no cigarette breath when I kiss you at midnight."

"You're going to what now?" Kurt's eyes went wide.

"Kiss you." Sebastian took the glass away from Kurt and set both aside before putting a hand on the other man's hip. "You can't not have a midnight kiss on New Years Eve. Bad luck."

"I've never—I mean, obviously I've kissed someone just not at New Years." Kurt swallowed thickly.

"Then maybe your luck is changing." Sebastian leaned in a bit and winced. "God, that was an awful line. Is it midnight yet? I promise I'm better at kissing than talking."

"Then why wait?" Kurt asked breathlessly. Sebastian didn't give him a chance to change his mind, dipping his head down and capturing Kurt's mouth with his own. Their lips fit together perfectly and at the first sweet kiss Sebastian made a desperate little whimper that shocked Kurt. He sucked Kurt's plump bottom lip between his teeth and then brought his free hand up to grip the back of Kurt's head. He plunged his tongue between Kurt's parted lips and relished the way Kurt clung to his shoulders as their tongues drug against one another. They pulled apart when they heard the fireworks exploding outside.

"Kurt, I—" Sebastian panted against his lips but Kurt cut him off with a brief, forceful press of his lips.

"You don't have to do that. I'm fine with this." Kurt said, squeezing Sebastian's shoulders. "Just don't stop." Sebastian felt a little deflated that his declarations were dismissed but he couldn't ignore the pleading in Kurt's eyes. Sebastian pulled Kurt close again and covered Kurt's mouth with his own. They kissed until the fireworks had died down and the candles had burned out. Sebastian was painfully hard but didn't want to push Kurt to do anything he might regret so he kept his hands North of Kurt's hips, contenting himself with sliding them underneath his untucked shirt and exploring the lean muscles of his back.

"Take me to bed, Seb." Kurt said, the first time either of them had spoken actual words in at least an hour. Sebastian leaned back a bit and took in Kurt's appearance. His hair was mussed and his lips looked almost painfully swollen. His eyes were dark and his throat was marked from Sebastian's lips and teeth. Kurt's hands were roaming down Sebastian's chest and tugging his tie undone impatiently.

"You're sure?" Sebastian asked, his voice rough and his fingers tightening on Kurt's hips.

"I'm sure that I want you to fuck me so hard I'll barely be recovered in time for dance classes next week." Kurt said, smirking at the shock in Sebastian's eyes.

"Jesus, Kurt..." Sebastian groaned, picking the smaller man up and throwing him over his shoulder. He laughed at the little squeak Kurt made when he was yanked off of his feet. Sebastian started towards Kurt's bedroom but turned around and went back to the tree.

"What are you doing?" Kurt demanded. When he saw Sebastian snatch up the condom ornament he laughed. "I do have more of those, you know."

"But I've been thinking about using this one with you since you put it on the damn tree." Sebastian said, hauling Kurt to the bed and dropping him gently onto the mattress. "You have no idea how much I've wanted this." He admitted, fingers flying down the buttons of Kurt's shirt.

"Since Christmas?" Kurt said, his words morphing into a moan as Sebastian opened his shirt and licked across his smooth chest.

"Since coffee." Sebastian said cryptically, silencing Kurt's questions with a fierce kiss as he tugged off the rest of both of their clothes. He turned Kurt over gently and rested his weight on him for a moment, enjoying the feeling of skin on skin and the way the slightly shorter, slightly slimmer man fit perfectly against him. Kurt reached for his bedside table and pulled out a bottle of lube, letting it roll down the bed next to them as Sebastian nuzzled into his sweet smelling hair for a moment.

"Seb, please..." Kurt whined, wiggling his hips in a way that made Sebastian groan and rut against the curve of his ass until they were both gasping.

Sebastian kissed down the back of Kurt's neck and across his shoulders, leaning up on his forearms for a moment to read the tattoo daintily drawn across his scapula. "It's got Bette Midler? I need to hear the story behind this." Sebastian kissed his way down Kurt's spine. "Later." He bit one of Kurt's cheeks and reached for the lube. "Much later."

Sebastian took his time preparing his lover, stretching him one finger at a time and searching out his prostate until Kurt was grinding himself into the duvet and his back was shining with sweat. "Ready?" Sebastian asked, embarrassed by how much his voice trembled.

"Yes! Please, hurry." Kurt said, lifting his hips slightly. Sebastian withdrew his fingers and rolled on the tree ornament before lining himself up. He pushed forward with one smooth stroke, letting out a strangled cry at the tight heat surrounding him. He hadn't gone without sex for this long since he was sixteen and Kurt felt entirely too good. When he had bottomed out he leaned down a bit to kiss Kurt's neck, giving them both time to adjust.

"I may be about to dash all of your expectations by being the shortest lay of your life." Sebastian warned, teeth nipping at Kurt's earlobe.

"You could have made me cum just with your fingers. You're just as good as I imagined." Kurt said, craning his neck to look at Sebastian. "Just fuck me." Sebastian kissed him hard in spite of the uncomfortable angle and then pulled back, sitting up and repositioning Kurt's hips before slamming back into him.

It was fast and rough but when they climaxed together Sebastian surprised Kurt by pulling him close and holding his sweaty, sticky body against his own. Kurt, in turn, surprised Sebastian by not insisting that they shower and instead seeming content to doze in Sebastian's arms. "Happy New Year, Kurt." Sebastian whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Kurt's head.

"Happy New Year, Seb." Kurt replied sleepily.

**February**

Sebastian whistled as he unlocked the door to the loft and slid it open. He clutched tickets for amazing orchestra seats at the Gershwin in his hand that he'd saved all last month for. It was a unique experience for him, working and saving to pay for something that he cared about but he just knew the look on Kurt's face would be worth it. And tonight would be the night where he'd finally open up and tell Kurt how he felt. They spent most of their nights together but he was still officially residing on the sofa and every time he tried to talk Kurt would shush him with that marvellously talented mouth of his.

When he sauntered through the door he saw Kurt sitting on the couch in yoga pants and a hoodie, a mug of tea in his hands and an exhausted look on his face. "What is it, Princess? You're never in cotton spandex this early unless something's wrong." Sebastian asked, closing the door behind him.

"Just an _awful_ day at the diner. The customers were in top form today and Gunter had us singing love songs until our throats were raw." Kurt sighed, sipping his tea. "It's days like this that make me glad I'm not in a relationship, y'know? I don't have to do anything more for Valentine's Day than sit in my comfy clothes and watch TV. I think you have the right idea about this sex without attachments thing." Sebastian fought to keep his expression neutral as he shoved the tickets into his jacket pocket. "What's that?" Kurt asked.

"It doesn't matter." Sebastian said. "Let me just go change and we'll order some take-out? Thai?"

"My favourite. Sounds good." Kurt hummed happily and wiggled deeper into the couch cushions.

"Happy Valentine's, Kurt." Sebastian said, briefly running a hand through Kurt's silky hair and fighting back the lump in his throat.

"Happy Valentine's, Seb." Kurt said.

Sebastian came back in his Lions Lacrosse t-shirt and some sweats a few minutes later desperately hoping that Kurt wouldn't notice how red his eyes were. He sat in the arm chair instead of on the couch next to Kurt and used his phone to order dinner, already having Kurt's order memorized. "How was your day?"

"Uh, okay." Sebastian said. "Listen, I've been thinking..." he looked at Kurt's even expression and took a shaky breath, "maybe it's time I found an apartment of my own."

**March**

Kurt pressed his way through the sea of people with a frown. "Why did I let you talk me into this, Elliott?" He paused an heard no response. "Elliott? Oh for fuck's sake." He scanned the crowd of drunken revellers in various shades of green and groaned.

"You look lost, Princess." A familiar voice said from next to him. Kurt spun to see Sebastian with a restrained smile, his hands shoved into the pockets of his khakis and the collar of his green polo turned down for once.

"Seb! It's good to see you!" Kurt shouted, throwing his arms around the other boy. He didn't miss the way Sebastian stiffened but returned his hug anyway.

"Lose your date?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah, though it's not a date and I don't know how you misplace a six and a half foot tall man in eye-liner in a crowd." Kurt said, looking around for Elliott again. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in weeks."

"Yeah, sorry about that. School has been a little insane." Sebastian said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hey, babe." A tall, dark skinned man came up behind Sebastian and looped an arm comfortably around his waist. "Who's this?" He asked with an open, friendly smile.

"This is Kurt, my old room-mate." Sebastian said. "Kurt, this is my boyfriend Mike."

"Pleasure." Mike said, extending a hand to shake Kurt's. The smaller man just looked stunned for a long moment before returning the gesture.

"Yeah, great to meet you. Boyfriend, wow. Awesome." Kurt said awkwardly.

"Hey, I see the green shots girl. Be right back, honey." Mike said, pressing a sweet kiss to Sebastian's cheek before darting off into the crowd.

"Boyfriend?" Kurt said again.

"Don't look so surprised, Kurt. It's kind of insulting." Sebastian said. "I wasn't the one who wasn't open to relationships."

"What?" Kurt said, looking stricken and confused just as Elliott walked up.

"Hey, Kurt. Someone said something about green shots running around." Elliott said cheerfully. "Hey, Seb. Long time no see." He added with a slightly more guarded expression.

"I'm going to go find those shots." Kurt said, pushing his way in the direction Mike went. Sebastian didn't miss the way that Elliott's eyes watched Kurt disappear into the swell of people.

"Good luck." Sebastian said with a sigh, patting the other man's shoulder. Elliott looked annoyed right up until he saw the sympathetic look in Sebastian's eyes.

"I just keep wondering if it's worth it." Elliott said.

"It was. While it lasted." Sebastian said. "No regrets." Elliott nodded and put his handsome smile back on when Kurt returned with test tube shaped glasses between his fingers and Mike on his heels. "Happy St. Patrick's Day, Kurt." Sebastian said, locking eyes with him briefly.

"Happy St. Patrick's Day, Sebastian." Kurt said before knocking the shot back and accepting Elliott's offer of a dance.

"You okay, honey?" Mike asked in an understanding tone, wrapping Sebastian in his warm arms.

"I am." Sebastian smiled genuinely. "You want to get out of here?"

* * *

"St. Patrick's Day" by John Mayer

Here comes the cold  
Break out the winter clothes  
And find a love to call your own  
You - enter you  
Your cheeks a shade of pink  
And the rest of you in powder blue

Who knows what will be  
But I'll make you this guarantee

No way November will see our goodbye  
When it comes to December it's obvious why  
No one wants to be alone at Christmas time

In the dark, on the phone  
You tell me the names of your brothers  
And your favourite colours  
I'm learning you  
And when it snows again  
We'll take a walk outside  
And search the sky  
Like children do

No way November will see our goodbye  
When it comes to December it's obvious why  
No one wants to be alone at Christmas time  
And come January we're frozen inside  
Making new resolutions a hundred times  
February, won't you be my valentine?

And we'll both be safe 'til St. Patrick's Day

We should take a ride tonight around the town  
and look around at all the beautiful houses  
something in the way that blue lights on a black night  
can make you feel more  
everybody, it seems to me, just wants to be  
just like you and me

No one wants to be alone at Christmas time  
Come January we're frozen inside  
Making new resolutions a hundred times  
February, won't you be my valentine?

And if our always is all that we gave  
And we someday take that away  
I'll be all right if it was just 'til St. Patrick's Day


	3. Lips of an Angel

"**Lips of an Angel"**

[This is Klaine with a Sam/Kurt endgame, from sort of a 'what if' prompt based on the original character concept: a love interest for Kurt.

Canon compliant up to Duets then mostly compliant after that right up to graduation for the class of 2013 and the big move to NYC where story veers way off the tracks.

(note: Sam is gay in this fic. He still had his brief relationships with Quinn and Santana but was only friends with Mercedes and Brittany. Hopefully it will all make sense when you read it and not feel too forced. Feedback is appreciated.)

I hope you enjoy. Warnings for infidelity, body issues, eating disorder mentioned (may be triggering) and brief m/m sex.

As always I shamelessly ask for prompts from you guys. I'll write a lot faster if I have more to work with. Thanks so much for reading!]

* * *

**Sophomore Year...**

Sam closed his eyes and leaned into the spray of hot water, letting the sweat from football practice and the blue dye number one from yet another slushie assault swirl down the drain. _It wasn't supposed to be like this, here. I've managed to keep the raging nerd hulk contained. Here I'm not the boy who came to school in a wizard's cloak. I'm not the boy who kissed other boys on the playground or wouldn't take his shirt off at the pool. Not the chubby, geeky, gay kid. I'm... _Sam rotated his shoulder under the water and groaned a little, _I __**was**__ the quarterback. At least I still have Glee until I get back on the field._

The sound of someone clearing their throat made his head snap up. "Kurt!" He said, instinctively wanting to cover his body and wishing that he hadn't indulged in those cheetos at lunch. He was certain that his stomach was distended.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to go all 'Shawshank' on you." Kurt said, holding one hand up in a joking, non-threatening gesture.

"This is kinda weird. Guys don't usually...talk to each other in here." Sam said, affixing his eyes to the tile wall to keep from looking too closely at Kurt. He was quite certain that the other boy was gay—and ridiculously cute—but he wasn't ready to be out at McKinley yet after everything Finn had told him.

"Well, this can't wait." Kurt said. "I'm setting you free. You can do your duet with someone else in Glee. Someone that the _world_ deems more appropriate_._" His smile was sad but genuine.

"Did I do something to offend you?" Sam asked, turning back to Kurt and pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.

"No! No. I...it's not you, it's me." Kurt said with half a smile. "You've been honourable, actually, and I wish you the best. But I've realized that I need to sing with someone that matches my passion and talent level." He added, raising his dimpled chin just a bit.

"Who's that?" Sam asked. _Is he flirting with me? I'm pretty sure he's flirting with me. _Kurt's eyes dropped down Sam's torso for just a moment as he cocked his head to the side and gave a playful smile instead of an answer. _Holy shit, he is. What do I do? Speak naavi! No, wait, bad idea._

"You know, they make special shampoo for colour-treated hair." Kurt said before turning away.

"I don't dye my hair." Sam argued fruitlessly, watching Kurt saunter out of the locker room.

"Uh huh." He said without turning around.

Sam folded his arms on the wall and leaned forward slightly. "Kurt, hold up." He said before he lost his nerve.

"Yeah?" Kurt turned sideways and looked back at him.

"We should hang out sometime. I get it if you don't want to sing with me, but maybe we could play video games or watch a movie or something?" Sam said. "I don't have a lot of guy friends here, y'know?"

Kurt blinked a few times, his big, blue eyes making the gesture seem exaggerated and cartoonish. "Most people don't think of me as 'one of the guys'." He said.

"From where I'm standing you look like a guy." Sam said with a flash of bright, white teeth. _Woah, dial it back dude. You're gonna scare him._

Kurt ducked his head and blushed before sucking his lower lip between his teeth and looking up again. "Sure, why not?"

"Cool." Sam smiled. "And maybe you could give me some more hair tips."

"It's our secret." Kurt said, pressing his finger to his lips before slipping out of the locker room. He didn't want to be anywhere near by when any of the other jocks came to shower.

* * *

**The Summer after graduation...**

Kurt was sitting cross legged on the floor of his Bushwick loft with his entire collection of high school yearbooks and scrapbooks spread out in front of him, including the one he'd put together for the class of 2013. Sam sat next to him, their knees touching, as they pointed to pictures and laughed. Somewhere in the background Sam could hear Blaine and Rachel playing piano and singing something from West Side Story while Artie critiqued them for old time's sake but he wasn't paying attention to much besides the attractive flush on Kurt's cheeks and the melodic sound of his giggle.

"Omigod, your hair was so cute. You really need a haircut. This pony tail is not working." Kurt said, cooing over a picture of Sam from his Junior year.

"At least I don't dye it any more." Sam said, wincing at the candid photo of he and Santana looking very uncomfortable sitting next to each other. "It figures that the only two guys Santana ever _actually_ dated instead of just slept with were gay, too."

"I still can't believe that you didn't tell me!" Kurt said, gesturing to the picture with the red solo cup in his hand.

Sam cleared his throat. "Well, I never really got the chance did I?"

"What do you mean? We use to hang out all the time. We've known each other for years!" Kurt said.

"Until you went to Dalton." Sam said, looking down at the pictures to avoid Kurt's inquisitive gaze. "And met Blaine."

"Okay, you sound like Mercedes. I get it, I let myself get a little too wrapped up in having my first boyfriend." Kurt admitted sheepishly. "I'm sorry. But when I transferred back, when—when your family was having trouble, we hung out then."

"Yeah, and I didn't exactly feel like having my big closet opening when we were living in a motel." Sam said with a dry, little chuckle. "It's cool, Kurt. I mean, my parents knew. I came out to them the summer before my Freshman year."

"Then why not at school?" Kurt asked.

"Not everyone can be like you, Kurt. Most of us...Dave, Blaine, me, the bullying is just too much. It's easier to run." Sam said quietly before taking a long drink from his own cup.

"Blaine didn't run. He wasn't in the closet." Kurt said, frowning when he thought about Dave.

"Didn't he? Sure, he wasn't in the closet but he ran all the same instead of facing his bullies. That's how he feels, too. We've talked about it." Sam explained.

"Well, yeah I know but...I guess. I mean, I did the same thing." Kurt said.

"For like five minutes." Sam laughed. "You were too fabulous for that place and you know it. You've never been able to hide. And you shouldn't have to." He beamed.

"I thought you went to an all boys school before McKinley." Kurt said, trying to hide his smile behind the rim of his cup.

"Yeah, one that definitely did **not** have a no bullying policy. Imagine what high school would have been like with nothing but the dudes you went to school with." Sam said.

Kurt shuddered. "Okay, moving on or I'll have nightmares." He said, pointedly flipping to the next page in his scrapbook. One of the pictures on the page was of Blaine and Sam in their superhero costumes, taken by Tina. "The two of you are so adorable. I'll admit, when I saw this I was extremely jealous."

"Because I got your boyfriend in tights?" Sam joked.

"He wasn't my boyfriend, then." Kurt pointed out. "Blaine told me, you know. About his crush."

"Oh, yeah." Sam said awkwardly. "I told him, about me I mean, not long after he spilled the beans about that. Only seemed fair."

"Really?" Kurt asked, wide eyed. "I didn't realize that it went down like that. And nothing happened? I mean, he says that he likes you...you say, guess what I'm gay..."

"Liking guys or not doesn't change the fact that I didn't feel that way about Blaine." Sam said. "Honestly, I think he was a little bummed. I think the straight-guy-gay-guy-being-besties thing meant a lot to him."

"I can understand that." Kurt said. "Don't get me wrong, I was not-so-secretly hoping that you were gay and madly in love with me when we met, but it felt really nice to think that a cool, straight boy wanted to spend time with me."

"So does it make it less meaningful knowing that I was gay?" Sam asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Not at all." Kurt smiled. "It's good that I didn't know, really. I made enough of a fool of myself flirting with you when I thought you were probably straight."

"Probably?" Sam smirked.

"The hair threw me." Kurt giggled.

"Trust your instincts." Sam said, sharing his laugh.

"I guess I just wish that you felt like you could come to me. I know how much it sucks not to have anyone to talk to." Kurt said. "But I'm glad you had Blaine, eventually."

"I am, too." Sam said before leaning sideways a bit. "But, can I tell you a secret? Blaine was never the one I wanted to have."

Kurt turned to look at him, scrutinizing him for a long, agonizing moment. Slowly his narrowed eyes opened wide as he took in Sam's bashful expression. "Oh!" He shouted before clapping a hand over his mouth. "What the hell, Sam? You have to be joking!" He added in a quieter voice, suddenly very aware of his fiancé in the next room.

"Uh, no. I'm definitely not." Sam said, raising his shoulders up and seeming to shrink just a bit.

"You...I..." Kurt huffed. "That's so not fair, Sam. I was _throwing_ myself at you when we first met. Why didn't you tell me, then?"

"It was kind of hard to see why you would be throwing yourself at me." Sam said without looking up.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me." Kurt stage whispered, throwing his hands up. "Sam, you were the sexy, new quarterback with the killer voice and the adorable hair. You've got to be mental."

"Look, I wasn't ever that guy, okay? I'm still not." Sam said with a shrug of his shoulders, daring to glance up at Kurt's face.

"You're a model." Kurt said.

"And you're Kurt Hummel." Sam said, gesturing wildly while comically trying to keep his voice down.

"And you're _Sam Evans._ You basically define hot. How do you not understand that?" Kurt said, getting just as animated from the combination of frustration and alcohol. "You're so amazing that nearly every person we know has had a thing for you, myself included." Sam surged forwards, tilting Kurt's chin and bringing those plump lips a breath away from Kurt's before stopping suddenly. Kurt flushed with embarrassment when he realized that his eyes had instinctively fluttered shut. "What are you doing?" He managed to croak out.

"Sorry." Sam said, slowly pulling back and licking his lips as though he was fighting to restrain himself. "I know about what Dave did and I...yeah, sorry."

Kurt blinked. "You're sorry because of Dave. Not because of your best friend who I'm currently engaged to?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm sorry about that, too." Sam said, standing unsteadily. "Booze, y'know? Forget I said anything. Just going to hit the sack." His voice was hollow as he turned away.

* * *

"Have you noticed anything weird about Sam lately?" Blaine asked as he licked the end of his coffee stirrer then tossed it in the trash. Kurt wistfully remembered when watching him do something like that was enough to send his fantasies into overdrive, but that was a long time ago. More often than not his fantasies recently had contained a certain conversation with a bleach blonde football player in the shower and all the various, wonderful ways it could have ended. At least with Sam and Blaine in their own apartment now it was easier to avoid being alone with Sam or even actually speaking to him.

"Weird? Like what?" Kurt squeaked guiltily. _Does he know? Was he snooping through my texts again?_ Kurt had gone to the most knowledgeable and impartial source he could for advice: Mercedes. He had told her all about Sam's big confession only to find that she already knew. He also learned a few other troubling facts about the newly minted model.

"I don't know. He's been working out even more than usual and I think maybe he's been partying too much. I mean, I've heard him throwing up in the bathroom like four mornings in the past week." Blaine said quietly before sipping his coffee.

Kurt's footsteps stuttered. "I'm sure it's nothing to be too worried about. Come on, I saw this new coat I'm dying to try on." He said while pulling out his phone and tapping out a text to Sam.

Kurt Hummel: Free tonight?

Sam Evans: Uh, did you text me by mistake? I thought we weren't speaking.

Kurt Hummel: And now we are. So, would you like to do so in person? I think we should.

Sam Evans: Always.

Kurt blushed in spite of himself, reminded of the way he'd preened when Chandler had been flattering him via text. Then again, Kurt had never one been tempted to imagine Chandler in the shower.

Kurt Hummel: Dinner, then. You pick the place.

Sam Evans: ...is this a date?

Kurt Hummel: I'm engaged!

Sam Evans: So I don't have to wear a tie?

* * *

"Mm, that was good." Sam said hurriedly, pushing his chair back and standing. "I'll be back in a sec."

"Sam." Kurt said, fixing him with his big, sympathetic eyes. "Don't."

"Don't what? I'm just going to the bathroom." Sam said nervously, frozen in a crouch halfway between sitting and standing.

"You know what." Kurt said, reaching out and putting his hand over the other man's. His fingertips brushed the callouses on his knuckles gently. "Please, sit. Stay with me."

Sam looked torn, almost manic for a moment as he glanced between Kurt's eyes and their joined hands. Slowly he eased back into his seat and flipped his hand over to grip Kurt's tightly. "What are you doing?" He asked, voice shaky.

"Helping, I hope." Kurt said. "Look, I know that I haven't always been there when you needed me—"

"You were right at my side when my dad lost his job. I couldn't have gotten through it without you and Quinn." Sam interrupted.

"But not when you needed a friend, when you were new at McKinley. And not when you were struggling in school. And not through any of this..." he said, squeezing Sam's hand to emphasize the elephant in the room that they hadn't named, "but I'm here now. And Sam, you need help."

"I'm fine. It's just that I have a really strict routine and sometimes I indulge and—" It was Kurt's turn to interrupt.

"No. Sam, it's never okay. You know that. I know you do. And you saw what it did to Marley, how it took over her life so quickly." Kurt said sadly. "You need help. No one else has to know. Will you let me help you?"

Sam looked into Kurt's eyes and knew that he'd say yes to anything the other man said, even if he could practically feel his dinner pressing on the waistband of his pants and his oesophagus simultaneously. "Yeah, okay. I will."

* * *

"Blaine! Oh—oh, yes!" Kurt panted, his neck craning backwards and his eyes squeezed shut as he rocked up into his fiancé's mouth rhythmically. His fingers tugged on dark curls but as he neared the edge he imagined them slipping through silky, blonde strands. He imagined how those full lips would feel tight around him as those long fingers caressed his opening..."Fuck!" He emptied himself down Blaine's throat. His guts churned with guilt as Blaine crawled up and kissed him sweetly, a proud smile on his handsome face. _I'm in trouble._

* * *

"Sam?" Kurt whispered as he tiptoed out of his room. "It's three in the morning, is everything all right?"

"Just... a bad day." Sam said in that fragile, shaky voice Kurt had come to recognize as dangerous. He had been accompanying Sam to therapy for months and had held his friend's hand through every relapse and bout of self-loathing, constantly reassuring him that he was amazing. Through it all Kurt had come to appreciate just how amazing.

"Don't cry." Kurt cooed, slipping out onto the fire escape and closing the window halfway to muffle the sound of their conversation. "Talk to me."

"Kurt, what are we doing?" Sam asked. "You and me."

"Um, talking on the phone in the middle of the night?" Kurt suggested, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his free hand.

"That's not what I meant." Sam sighed into the microphone. "Blaine's there, isn't he? He didn't come home."

"Yeah, he's asleep in the other room. I'm outside." Kurt said, looking nervously back towards the window.

"You got out of bed with your fiancé to talk to me." It was a statement, not a question.

"I thought you might be upset." Kurt shifted the phone to the other ear. "I was right."

"Tell me you never think about us." Sam said. "About that day in the locker rooms, all those times we hung out...about what would have happened if I'd just had the balls to kiss you."

Kurt bit his lip and against his better judgement whispered: "Sometimes."

"I want you. All the time." Sam said breathily.

"But Blaine—" Kurt's eyes darted back to the window.

"Is my best friend." Sam said. "And he tells me everything. How distant you've been lately, how much time you've been spending away from him. Why don't you just tell him that you're with me?"

"Why don't you?" Kurt snapped back.

"Because he knows me too well. He knows that there's someone I really like...he just hasn't put the pieces together. Yet." Sam said over the sound of traffic.

"Well, I'm not doing anything wrong." Kurt said. "Sure, I've been distant. I've been busy. So has he."

"He also said that you aren't really interested in sex any more. With him, anyway." There was a little smirk in Sam's tone. "He told me he walked in on you jerking it in the shower."

"He did not!" Kurt gasped. "Why would he tell you something that embarrassing?"

"Kurt..." Sam groaned the word in a voice straight out of Kurt's in-shower fantasies. He swallowed thickly and licked suddenly dry lips.

"This is ridiculous." Kurt said. "This whole thing between us it's just...just left over from high school. Because nothing ever actually happened."

"Then kiss me." Sam said. Kurt could hear people talking passively in the background, fading in then out as though Sam was passing them.

"Pardon?" Kurt said.

"If it's all just pent up frustration from high school, then let it out." Sam said. "Come downstairs and kiss me."

"Downstairs?" Kurt leaned over the railing on the fire escape and looked down at the dark alley. Sure enough, Sam was standing on the wet concrete, his neck craned back to look up at Kurt. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"The same thing I've been doing since high school. Waiting for you." Sam said before swiping the screen to end the call. Kurt's legs moved without permission, starting down the narrow fire escape. Sam jumped up and pulled the last leg of the ladder down. When Kurt was within reach he stretched out his arms and encircled Kurt's waist, lifting him down to the ground in one strong, sure movement. He repeated the same gentle tilt of Kurt's chin he had the last time they'd nearly kissed, and just as before he brought his lips within a breath of Kurt's then stopped. Only this time Kurt rushed to close the distance before he had a chance to pull away. Their lips crashed together, followed by their bodies as hands groped through clothes and tongues immediately tangled. It wasn't sweet, it was explosive, and Kurt wanted the feeling to soak into every pore.

"Kurt...?" The voice was like a bucket of ice water being dumped on top of the two men, snapping them out of their passion and making them both lurch guiltily away from one another. Kurt lifted his eyes in horror to see Blaine sanding on the fire escape in his pyjamas.

* * *

Kurt sat dumbly next to his fiancé, each of them on their respective sides of Kurt's bed not looking at each other. Blaine was the first one to break the long stretch of silence. "It's okay." He said, voice small and broken.

"No, it really isn't." Kurt said, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Yes, it is, Kurt. No one understands better than I do. I mean, I've screwed up before, too. It doesn't mean that we can't still make this work. That we aren't meant for each other." Blaine reached out for Kurt's hand.

Kurt looked at the hand and took a shaky breath. "I think that's exactly what it means. That's why I had such a hard time with what you did, Blaine. I can't understand how someone could do that to their soul-mate. To someone they really love with their whole being."

"But you just...oh." The tears brimming in Blaine's expressive, hazel eyes began to tumble down his cheeks. "I see."

"I wouldn't have kissed Sam, have felt the things I feel with him if you and I were meant to be." Kurt said. "Blaine, I am so fucking sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am." Blaine said, rubbing furiously at his cheeks. "I can't stay here, I can't go home I—I..." he stuttered through tears. "I'm going to get a hotel."

"Blaine..." Kurt reached out for his arm.

"If you say that you want to be friends right now I think I might throw up." Blaine said. "Just don't. Kurt, I'll always love you and I'm sure someday but right now—just don't." Kurt clamped his mouth shut and watched Blaine leave before burying himself under the covers.

* * *

Kurt pulled on his jacket and thumbed through all of his e-mails and texts as he stepped out of the diner at the end of an exceptionally gruelling shift. Funny Girl had been a smash and Rachel had quit. Even though Brittany had picked up some shifts, he was still working overtime until Gunther found a replacement. He was so absorbed in his phone that he nearly ran into the man with arms heaving with purchases. "Sorry!" Kurt said, looking up to find familiar blue eyes and cropped, sandy blonde hair. "Sam." He exhaled the word rather than saying it.

"Hi." Sam said. "I uh, I didn't know what would be a better gesture so..." Sam shrugged his shoulders and dropped his eyes to the cup of Starbucks, the dozen roses, and the box from Kurt's favourite hipstery bakery in Brooklyn that made the most decadent cheesecake in the city.

"You didn't have to do all of this." Kurt said, reaching for the coffee first.

"Yeah, well Blaine said not to come empty handed." Sam said, falling into step with Kurt.

"Blaine?" Kurt's heart broke a little just saying the name aloud, even though it had been months. "You still speak?"

"Yeah. He forgave me, eventually. Hard not to understand what I see in you, y'know?" He smiled sidelong at Kurt. The other boy didn't fail to notice the present tense 'see' in that sentence.

"So what are you doing here? And what does Blaine have to do with it?" Kurt asked.

"He sort of told me to get off my ass and stop moping around the apartment." Sam said. "I mean, I've been working. And I still go to therapy. But I never really moved on. I guess I never really moved past Sophomore year of high school. I don't know if you ever think about me but I can't stop thinking about you."

"Kind of hard to keep you off my mind when there's a billboard of you in your underwear across from the office." Kurt said, his cheeks pinking at Sam's confession.

"I know what we did to Blaine was wrong." Sam pressed. "But he's forgiven us and I thought, maybe, if you were willing to let me take you out to dinner or something we could actually give this a shot because I really like you and I know you like me and—" Sam's rambling was ceased by Kurt's lips. This time was just as electric but far less urgent; the first of many kisses to come.

"Cheesecake first." Kurt said, taking the flowers and bringing them up to his nose.

* * *

**"Lips Of An Angel" **by Hinder

Honey why you calling me so late?  
It's kinda hard to talk right now.  
Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?  
I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud

Well, my girl's in the next room  
Sometimes I wish she was you  
I guess we never really moved on  
It's really good to hear your voice saying my name  
It sounds so sweet  
Coming from the lips of an angel  
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye  
But girl you make it hard to be faithful  
With the lips of an angel

It's funny that you're calling me tonight  
And, yes, I've dreamt of you too  
And does he know you're talking to me  
Will it start a fight  
No I don't think she has a clue

Well my girl's in the next room  
Sometimes I wish she was you  
I guess we never really moved on  
It's really good to hear your voice saying my name  
It sounds so sweet  
Coming from the lips of an angel  
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye  
But girl you make it hard to be faithful  
With the lips of an angel

It's really good to hear your voice saying my name  
It sounds so sweet  
Coming from the lips of an angel  
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye  
But girl you make it hard to be faithful  
With the lips of an angel

And I never wanna say goodbye  
But girl you make it hard to be faithful  
With the lips of an angel

Honey why you calling me so late?


	4. Like Someone in Love

"**Like Someone In Love"**

[This is for Skoodles. And just a note, reviews are a perfectly fine place to post prompts if you'd like.

I sort of ran wild with this one, drawing inspiration from a lot of different places. I hope that you don't mind. As requested, the main inspiration was from a jazz standard and it's Kurtbastian endgame with a decent amount of fluff and drama.

No warnings to speak of except for m/m sex (you should expect that from me by now) and that this is a blind!kurt fic. I thought I'd try my hand at it. If you find the circumstances a little ridiculous, remember that I'm functioning on Glee rules...trespasses are forgiven or forgotten on a week to week basis. Even so, I tried to keep this somewhat believable and sweet. Please review if you have thoughts and as always I'm looking for my next prompt. Thank you all for reading.

And a zillion thanks to whoever reviewed Lips of an Angel. You really made my decade, honestly.]

* * *

Sebastian could remember the day with perfect clarity. The look on Kurt's face, Blaine cradling him, his cries of pain. Funny how sharp the images were when he called them up, considering how little it had all mattered to him at the time. Even when he knew his chances of getting Blaine in bed had dropped to zero, he couldn't muster more than a shrug. Even when Kurt's admittedly scary father had banged on their front door and confronted his dad he had kept his cool, knowing that his family's reputation would trump teaching him a lesson in his dad's mind. As always. Even when Kurt's big oaf of a brother had laid him out in the Dalton parking lot, he'd just told himself that he'd succeeded in throwing him off his game for their next competition. But no nonchalance, denial, or excuses came to him the first time he saw Kurt afterwards. Poised, bitchy, and proud as ever, even with bandages over his eyes. They were blue, weren't they, before? Sebastian remembered the way he stood there defiantly and said that none of it mattered, that they weren't going to sink to his level. That they were going to win Nationals. Sebastian had taken Kurt's eyesight with a silly prank and he was concerned with beating him in a damn singing competition. Sebastian had never felt so small or respected someone as much as he did Kurt in that moment.

He thought of that courage when he refused to take steroids and quit the Warblers. And when he'd finally found the strength to talk to his father about his sexuality instead of letting it be some sort of open, shameful family secret. It had been almost ten years and he wasn't a nice man by anyone's definition, but he liked to think that he'd learned from his mistakes. The major ones anyway. And right now one of his major mistakes was sitting at the next table over, triggering his unwanted trip down memory lane.

The bar was hazy in spite of the long-standing smoking ban, like there was a cloud of decades old cigarette smoke that refused to budge. The lights were low, casting convenient shadows in the worn leather corner booths to hide bodies pressed tightly together, whispering promises to one another over the clink of glasses and ice. And then there was the music. Quintet or just piano, with vocals or instrumental, this stage had hosted some of the greatest jazz musicians of the past three generations. That was the reason Sebastian came here, almost always alone. He wasn't here to score, he reminded himself. That's what the sweaty, bass-filled meat markets downtown were for. But it was difficult to remember that, or even listen to the beautifully erratic tinkling of the piano, when _he_ was just there in his peripheral vision.

To say the years had been good to Kurt would, in Sebastian's estimation, be the understatement of the fucking century. Gone was the kind of awkward, flamboyantly dressed, doll faced boy he remembered. His face had thinned, showing off sculpted cheek bones and a firm, masculine jaw line. Retro, perhaps even vintage, Ray Bans rested on the delicate bridge of his nose. The only thing that hadn't changed too much was the whipped confection-like auburn coif on the top of his head. _Probably because he styles it from memory_, Sebastian thought with a twinge of guilt. The sides were cropped a bit shorter, though, and he couldn't imagine anything that would suit Kurt better. He let his eyes trail lower for just a moment, taking in broad shoulders beneath expensive cashmere, biceps stretching the fabric just so, and long, lean legs crossed beneath the table. Simply put, he was gorgeous and oh so Sebastian's type. _Too bad he'd never even have a real conversation with me, much less let me under him. Or on top of him. Or...goddamn._

Clearly Sebastian wasn't the only one who was interested; however, since Kurt was sitting across from a handsome man. He was downing his third drink since Sebastian had been watching the couple and sliding his hand up Kurt's thigh. Sebastian scowled at the back of the man's head openly and sipped his own bourbon. "You okay, darlin'?" The familiar waitress asked in her Louisiana drawl, stopping next to his table with her drinks tray propped against one hip. "If looks could kill that nice young man'd be lyin' in a pool of his own blood right now."

"You know just what to say to cheer me up, Bea." Sebastian said, pulling his eyes away from the couple if only for just a moment.

"What gives? It ain't like you to moon over some boy, even one as pretty as him." She said quietly.

"He's different." Sebastian said before her words sank in and he looked affronted. "I am not mooning, whatever that even means. I'm ogling."

"Same thing, 'cept with mooning you wanna stick around for breakfast." She smirked before swishing away to another table. Sebastian went back to his mooning or ogling, depending on your perspective. He watched as Kurt shoved the man's hand away for the fifth time and then got yanked out of his chair almost roughly. He was tugged towards the dance floor, looking embarrassed at the stumbling state of his companion as he stared just past the man. The up-tempo song ended and a slower one slid into its place, prompting Kurt's date to pull him closer and slide his hands down to palm his ass. He could hear Kurt's squeak of protest from his table and he was up out of his chair immediately.

He hesitated just before reaching the dance floor. No matter how noble his motives, and they mostly were—even if he had spent the past half hour imagining stripping off all of that well tailored black cashmere and doing unspeakable things to Kurt—as soon as Sebastian opened his mouth and revealed his identity he'd be lucky if Kurt bothered to slap him before storming back out of his life for good. They had made peace with each other, mainly because of Sebastian's profuse apologies to both him and Karofsky, after Dave's hospitalization but he would hardly call them friendly. In truth he didn't know what to expect from Kurt. His decision was made for him when Kurt tried to pull away and the man grabbed his arm in a way that made anger rise in Sebastian's throat like bile.

He grabbed the nameless man's shoulder and yanked him backwards. "Hands off the gentleman. Clearly he ain't interested." The words tumbled from his lips in a decent approximation of Bea's Southern accent. His quick thinking surprised even himself but it was too late to wonder if this was a good idea because now he had two hundred pounds of drunk New Yorker to deal with, all with Kurt as an audience.

* * *

"You really didn't have to do that." Kurt said, sitting across from Sebastian back at his table. The younger man had a towel full of ice pressed against his purpling cheek.

"It was nothin'. Barely left a mark." Sebastian boasted, glad that Kurt couldn't see him wince as he adjusted the cold compress. Bea walked by and mouthed a very clear 'what the fuck'. He shook his head subtly before turning his attention back to Kurt. "I couldn't just stand by an' watch a guy like that take advantage of someone like you, could I?" He said smoothly, his accent getting a bit more polished with every sentence. _Holy shit, I might actually be able to pull this off. At least for a little while._

Kurt's spine stiffened. "I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, I'll have you know. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean—"

"Darlin', I meant gettin' handsy with a handsome gentleman." Sebastian said. The blush on Kurt's cheeks was enough to stamp down the voice that was telling Sebastian how totally wrong this was.

"Oh." Kurt said in a small voice, biting his lip. He kept his chin up, head pointed in the direction of Sebastian's voice but actually on some spot behind and to the left of Sebastian. "Sorry. I'm doing this all wrong. I'm Kurt."

"I'm—" Sebastian hesitated for a moment, grabbing for a name that sounded natural, "Ethan." He said quickly, settling on his own middle name. "Pleasure to meet you, Kurt, even considerin' the shiner."

"I thought he barely left a mark." Kurt smirked.

"Which one makes me seem more heroic?" Sebastian asked, loving the fiery banter with Kurt that he hadn't realized he'd missed from their high school days.

"I don't think you need any help in that regard." Kurt bit his lip again and Sebastian's eyes watched little, white teeth worry pink flesh far too closely. "Well, thank you, Ethan. I uh...I should probably be getting home." Kurt said.

"Not at all." Sebastian said. _Okay, he likes chivalry. Makes sense. Think Blaine, but less puppy dog more sexy knight._ "Can I walk you to a taxi cab? I'd sleep a whole lot better tonight if I knew that you were gettin' home all right." Kurt smiled. _Bingo._

"All right. That'd be nice, actually." Kurt admitted, standing up.

"Can I offer you my arm? This place is like a mine field." Sebastian said, amazed by how Kurt weaved his way gracefully around some pulled out chairs with the aid of his expandable cane.

"I'm use to it." Kurt said flippantly.

"Then can I offer 'cause I want to?" Sebastian pressed, finding it suddenly very important that Kurt touch him and somehow make this real and not just a really bizarre dream. "No funny business, I promise." _Not just yet._

Kurt paused and considered his words with an adorable cock of his head. "Okay." He said finally, gathering up his cane again. Sebastian reached out and picked up Kurt's soft and delicate hand, surprised by the warmth of his skin and the callouses on his fingertips.

"You play guitar." Sebastian said as he nestled Kurt's hand in the crook of his arm. He couldn't remember Blaine ever mentioning Kurt playing any instrument. He took care to wrap Kurt's hand around his biceps so that he couldn't help but feel Sebastian flex it just a bit.

"I do." Kurt said, an eyebrow lifting over the top of his sunglasses.

"Callouses." Sebastian said. "I have 'em, too." To illustrate his point he brushed his fingertips over the back of Kurt's hand as they walked. He didn't fail to see the little shiver that rippled down the slimmer man's body, either.

"Oh." Kurt squeaked before clearing his throat. "You're a musician?"

"I'm a composer, actually." Sebastian said, too caught up in Kurt's response to his touch to think of a lie. _Shit. At least my accent is still intact._

"Really? What do you write?" Kurt asked, perking up immediately. Normally Sebastian would love to launch into an excited explanation of his newest musical project but he didn't know how much Kurt knew about his life and didn't want to ruin his chances of seeing how far this lie could take him.

"Jazz." He blurted. "I uh, I mean I've done some work for TV and stuff like that, but jazz is my passion." It wasn't entirely a lie. He'd gotten whatever work was necessary to pay the bills after investing his trust fund in his first major off-Broadway production. But now he was enjoying moderate success and putting polish on a new project that he was certain would take him all the way to the Tony's this year. "How 'bout you?" The question was moot since Sebastian knew very well what Kurt did for a living. He imagined there weren't a lot of people from their quiet corner of Ohio that didn't know about the blind fashion and costume designer who was breaking down boundaries and making headlines left and right for his avant garde frocks. But even so Sebastian listened raptly as Kurt began to talk about his achievements with humility and excitement all at once.

* * *

Two hours later Sebastian entered his flat, whistling a familiar Sinatra tune as he hung up his keys. The walk had turned to conversation with turned to coffee which left Sebastian with Kurt's number secure in his phone and plans for next Friday night.

"Seb?" A familiar voice called from the next room. "Great, you're back...I've almost got these lyrics figured out and—what happened to your face?" Blaine asked, bounding into the room with a notebook in his hands and pencils stuck in his curls.

'Huh?" Sebastian said.

"Your cheek. Did someone _punch you_? What did you do?" Blaine said, arms folding across his sweater vest.

Sebastian lifted his hand to his cheek and touched the bruise gently, mind rewinding to the moment when he'd said goodbye to Kurt just before putting him in a cab.

One hand on the door of the taxi Kurt had stretched the other out towards Sebastian's face. "Where did he hit you?" He asked. Sebastian took Kurt's hand and pressed it to his cheek, the skin still piping hot where blood was pooling beneath it from the impact. Kurt traced his thumb over the purple mark before trailing down to Sebastian's jaw, mapping out his features by touch.

"Totally worth it." Sebastian said, surprised by the breathless quality of his voice.

"I have terrible taste in men." Kurt replied.

"I certainly hope so." Sebastian smirked, making Kurt giggle and pull his hand away. On a whim Sebastian caught it and brought his knuckles up to his lips. He knew it was the right decision when he heard Kurt's breath catch in his throat. "G'night, Kurt. It's going to be a mighty long week 'till Friday."

"Well, you have my number if the anticipation is too much to bear alone." Kurt said flirtatiously, leaving Sebastian's jaw hanging limp as he ducked into the cab.

"Seb?" Blaine said, snapping his fingers in front of his friend's face. "He really rang your bell, didn't he?" He asked, concerned about his flat-mate and professional partner.

"Hmm?" Sebastian said, mentally shaking away the memory.

"Oh. My. God. You met a boy." Blaine said, sympathy evaporating and quickly replaced by a smug grin.

"What? Nuh uh." Was Sebastian's very eloquent response.

"You did! I know that look, I've worn it enough." Blaine said giddily. "Ha! I never thought I'd see it, Sebastian Smythe struck dumb by some guy."

"Only because I can't have you, killer." Sebastian said, falling back into their familiar routine. He was a shameless flirt but Blaine had known him long enough to understand when he was joking. Ever since the slushie incidence Blaine had been completely off limits in Sebastian's mind. When Blaine had cheated on his long-distance boyfriend his senior year it seemed that only Kurt was able to forgive him, with the rest of his Lima friends unable to understand how he could do that to the 'poor, blind kid'. Only Sebastian had listened to Blaine's side, even though he'd given Blaine a pretty brutal tongue lashing over his stupidity. Sure, Kurt and Blaine had never gotten back together but they were still casual friends, talking every once and a while. Now that Sebastian knew what a catch Kurt had turned out to be he felt like giving his friend an updated version of his 'you're a fucking idiot' speech.

"Shut up. Sit down. Tell me everything." Blaine said, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Which is it, shut up or speak?" Sebastian said, dropping onto the couch and buying himself time as he concocted another set of lies to tell to someone he cared about.

Across town on the Upper West Side Kurt was being grilled by Rachel. "Kurt, you don't even know this guy. What if he's trying to take advantage of you?"

"Uh, no Rach...that's what the guy you set me up with was doing. Ethan was a perfect gentleman." Kurt said. "I think...I think I'm really into this guy."

"Kurt, come on." Rachel sighed. "I know that it's been a while but this is too fast."

"I know. But I can't explain it. He's so different." Kurt said, gesturing with his mug of tea as he snuggled into the sofa with his best friend. "He doesn't treat me like everyone else. He didn't ask any of the usual questions about my blindness or treat me like an invalid, he was just...nice. And normal, like someone I'd known for years."

"Wait, you asked him out? On a date?" Blaine asked, looking at Sebastian quizzically. "You?"

"Fuck off, Anderson." Sebastian said. "I'm allowed to have a meal with someone before sharing an orgasm with them from time to time."

"Ah, he's the sort of guy who won't get into bed with you without three dates, isn't he?" Blaine said knowingly.

"Maybe four." Sebastian sighed.

"He must be something to be worth all this effort." Blaine dead-panned. "Come on, these songs aren't writing themselves."

* * *

"I feel like I've told you everything about myself and all I know about your past is that you went to NYU and you're from New Orleans." Kurt said, sipping from his wine glass. Sebastian had chosen an up-scale French restaurant for their third date, hoping to impress Kurt with his knowledge of French cuisine and language. It had worked if Kurt's foot resting against his beneath the table was any indication. "How does a Southern boy end up in the big city?"

"N'Awlins ain't exactly the boondocks, Kurt." Sebastian smiled. He'd avoided talking too much about Ethan's past because his only experience with the South was one drunken weekend during Mardi Gras, but Bea had been a big help with the accent at least. "What do you want to know?" He slid his calf against Kurt's, dabbing his lips with his napkin and tossing it down to signal to the wait staff that they were done with their meal.

"Any siblings?" Kurt asked.

"Two sisters." Sebastian said immediately, figuring that there wasn't any harm in telling the truth when Kurt didn't know these things about Sebastian. He told himself that it was because it made it easier to keep his lies straight and not that he felt conflicted about lying. "Mary and Jacqueline, both younger. They're a handful and a half."

"Aww. Protective big brother, much?" Kurt teased.

"If you had two beautiful teenage sisters you'd be, too." Sebastian said. "I know what guys are thinkin'. I mean, not about girls, but...still. Guys are guys."

"Not all guys. You're a gentleman." Kurt said.

"Doesn't mean I think like one. Just means I don't act on it." Sebastian said, the corner of his mouth turning up. The smirk turned into a full on grin as Kurt blushed and ducked his head. "Next question." He said, saving Kurt from his embarrassment.

"When did you come out?" Kurt asked.

"Ooh, bringin' out the big guns." Sebastian said, draining his wine glass and reaching for the ice bucket on the table.

"Sorry." Kurt said, hearing the shifting of ice and holding out his glass.

"No, it's fine." Sebastian said. "I came out to my friends at fifteen. I never officially told my parents but they knew. Just...not the sorta family that talked about things like that. Until another boy I knew, well...he's hard to explain. He was out and he took hell for it. Even I gave him shit, honestly. He was just so unabashedly gay that it was hard not to. It was like all of my insecurities given form, if you can imagine that." He cleared his throat, staring at Kurt as he shifted a little, no doubt remembering his own torment. Sebastian forged ahead, knowing that he had to get this out. "Anyway, I watched him stand up to the bullies again and again and after a really bad incident I realized that he was the strongest man I'd ever met and I had to right to complain about anythin', especially if I wasn't willin' to take a stand. So I went home and told my old man."

"And?" Kurt asked, voice thick with emotion.

"He didn't want to talk about it at first." Sebastian admitted, remembering his father's expression as he followed him around his study. "But I guess he realized he couldn't ignore me forever. We still don't have the best relationship I guess, but even if he doesn't get it, he accepts it."

"Wow." Kurt said quietly. "The boy from school, do you still talk?"

"Naw, I don't think he'd like me much even now." Sebastian said. "Too much baggage."

"Well, I think he'd want to know how amazing you are now, personally." Kurt smiled, groping on the table for Sebastian's hand until he found it and covered it with his.

"Can I ask you somethin' personal?" Sebastian asked, almost forgetting his accent.

"Now would seem the appropriate time." Kurt said. "Tit for tat and all."

"What happened to your eyesight?" He asked. "I read in Vogue that it was an accident..." That wasn't untrue, the magazine had done an article about Kurt but had glossed over the details of the attack.

Kurt shifted in his seat, withdrawing his and and straightening his spine a bit. "I guess this was inevitable."

"You don't have to answer, I just—" Sebastian babbled.

"No, you should know. It was a prank gone very wrong. At my school the jocks threw these slushie drinks at us as a joke. Someone thought it would be funny to do the same thing but with rock salt in the ice to make it sting more."

"And it got in your eyes..." Sebastian said leadingly, not even having to fake the fractured sound of his voice.

"Mmmmhmm. That wasn't the intention but shit happens." Kurt said. "My corneas were deeply scratched and in spite of the doctors an infection took hold, too quickly. After that there wasn't much to be done." He explained.

"You must hate him." Sebastian said quietly. "Whoever did this to you."

"No." Kurt shook his head. "No, I don't. You'd have to have been there I guess but...he didn't mean it. Not really. Sure, he was a shit and he...well, I can't say he's my favourite person. But he apologized and he meant it. And we went through some pretty tough things later that year together... I think it'd be a waste to hate him."

Sebastian exhaled slowly. "I'm so sorry, Kurt." He said, struggling to keep up his façade and not scream his own, more personal apology.

Kurt smiled. "Besides, I beat the pants off of him in show choir that year."

"I'll bed you did." Sebastian remembered how captivating Kurt was on stage with a nostalgic sigh. _Jesus, get it together Seb._ "Dessert?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Kurt said.

* * *

Kurt was sandwiched between the unforgiving wall outside his apartment and Sebastian's firm body, every inch of lean muscle pressing into him as Sebastian's tongue pried his lips apart and licked at the roof of his mouth. Sebastian answered Kurt's wanton moan with one of his own, hands closing around Kurt's waist as the other man pulled at his lapels to bring him closer. Sebastian ground his own hardness against Kurt's, finding a brief second of relief before increasing frustration and need swelled in its place.

"Ethan..." Kurt whimpered, breaking the spell. Sebastian drew back slightly, pressing his forehead against Kurt's as he drew a gasping breath. "Rachel is out for a while. Did you...would you like to come in?"

"I want to." Sebastian said. _But I want you moaning my name, my real name._ "But I have an early mornin'." He kissed Kurt sweetly, pulling away when Kurt chased his kiss with his tongue and a tempting nip of his teeth. "I should say goodnight."

"Ethan, if this is about my—" Kurt began before Sebastian's mouth covered his again.

"Shh. No, I swear. There's nothin' about you that doesn't make me wanna come inside and do unspeakable things to you." Sebastian said, almost giving in when Kurt arched up against him, his body screaming his need for Sebastian to make good on his word. "But tonight ain't the night."

"Okay." Kurt said, "When can I see you again?"

* * *

"What is this?" Blaine asked, holding a piece of sheet music in front of Sebastian's nose and nearly making him drop his phone. He squinted at the notes on the page for a second.

"Uh, the second act duet?" Sebastian said. "Why, what's wrong with it?"

"It's a love song." Blaine said.

"Yeah...and? The characters **are** in love, right? Or did I miss some serious subtext when we were writing the book for this _love story_?" Sebastian said, glancing back at his phone and reading a flirty text from Kurt that made him bite back a smile.

"Yeah, but I always write the love songs. You suck at them." Blaine said.

"Okay, ouch." Sebastian said. "If you don't like it we can rewrite it, shit."

"No, it's really good." Blaine admitted. "Like, really really good. Tony good."

"So what's the problem?" Sebastian said, only half listening as he tapped out his response.

"You wrote it." Blaine said, watching Sebastian's smile bloom as he read something on his phone. "You're in love."

"What? Don't be stupid." Sebastian said, not looking up.

"You so are." Blaine reached for the phone but Sebastian's athletic reflexes beat out his. "I think it's time I met this guy."

"No way." Sebastian said, panicking a little. "You'll just try to steal him."

"I have a boyfriend! And that isn't my style." Blaine said. "Come on, Seb...you're being weird."

"You're weird!" He said, standing up abruptly.

"Just answer me this. You've been dating for two months...have you slept together?" Blaine asked, still holding out the sheet music like some piece of damning evidence. Sebastian avoided his eyes and snatched up his keys, slamming the door behind him as he stormed out of the flat. "Holy shit."

* * *

Kurt was laying on his stomach with his iPhone in hand, the screen turned away from him as his fingers tapped out another flirty quip with the latest brailletouch app. The slightly mechanical voice on his mobile read out Sebastian's response, asking if Rachel was home. Kurt lifted an eyebrow and quickly responded in the negative. A few minutes later he heard the quick rap of knuckles on his door. "Ethan?" Kurt called out, carefully setting down his mobile in the same place he always did and making his way to the door by memory, easily manoeuvring around their limited furniture.

"Yeah, it's me, darlin'." Sebastian said, Southern accent in place. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Kurt said, scrambling to open the door after patting down his hair and putting on the sunglasses he kept the by door. Sebastian crossed the threshold and drew him into a tight embrace, mouth covering his in a desperate kiss. Sebastian kicked the door closed behind him and held Kurt's face in his hands, tongue delving deeply between those lips that preoccupied him while he was working, body pressed against those muscles that filled his dreams.

"Now, can I come in?" Sebastian repeated, voice thick with subtext. Kurt nodded quickly, slipping his hand into Sebastian's and pulling him towards his bedroom on the other side of the house. In any other situation Sebastian would have politely noticed how lovely and well appointed, if sparse, the flat was. But right now he had a single mission in mind and he didn't waste any time getting down to it when Kurt closed the door behind them.

Sebastian mouth left a wet trail down Kurt's neck as garments hit the floor one after another in rapid succession. Eventually all that Kurt was wearing was his sunglasses. As soon as he felt Sebastian reach for them he flinched away. "You don't want that." Kurt warned.

"I do." Sebastian said emphatically, his fervour cooling enough for him to start thinking again. "I want to see all of you." Slowly he pulled the glasses away from Kurt's face, smiling at the cute way he fluttered his eyelashes. His corneas had a mostly opaque silver sheen and to Sebastian they were as beautiful as the rest of Kurt's lean, porcelain skinned body. "You're gorgeous. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." Sebastian said before kissing him again. Something had shifted in that kiss, slowing them down and making Sebastian relish each brush of skin on skin as their bodies came together. He turned and fell back on the bed, letting Kurt take the lead.

Kurt pulled back slowly, his calloused fingertips tracing the topography of Sebastian's face, sliding down the bridge of his nose and feathering out over his brow bone. Kurt hesitated for just a moment and Sebastian was too far gone to worry about what it meant. Sebastian caught one finger in his mouth as it outlined his lips, sucking on the digit naughtily before releasing it with a 'pop'. Kurt's hands continued down his body, fingering every dip and contour with single-minded focus. His mouth joined in midway down Sebastian's torso, tongue plotting the notches of muscle in his abs and chuckling against his skin each time Sebastian twitched and moaned, hands fisting the sheets on either side of him.

"Kurt, please." Sebastian pleaded. "I need you."

"What do you need?" Kurt asked as his lips hovered over Sebastian's hip, entirely too put together for Seb's liking.

"You inside me." He blurted. "Please, make love to me Kurt." Sebastian rarely bottomed but he didn't question his own request, knowing as soon as the words tumbled from his lips that it was the only thing that would satisfy right now.

The prep was quick, Kurt's fingers nimble and experienced as he stretched Sebastian and left him writhing and begging for more. Sebastian rolled on the condom himself, giving Kurt a few firm strokes before guiding him exactly where he needed him most. Kurt pushed into him with long, sure strokes. He lowered his body to cover Sebastian's as though he read the other man's mind and knew he craved the weight on top of him. They gasped into each other's mouths as Kurt pulled out and plunged back in. Sebastian panted his lover's name again and again, body becoming pliant under Kurt's touch. He came embarrassingly quickly, not even needing any further stimulation. When he hissed from over-sensitivity Kurt withdrew and tugged off the condom, quickly stroking out his own orgasm across Sebastian's chest.

* * *

Sebastian woke with his arms wrapped around Kurt's smaller frame. He smiled into his lover's neck and placed a few gentle kisses there. Kurt stirred slightly and he mouthed over his ear. "How does breakfast sound?"

"Great. After sleep." Kurt mumbled sleepily, burrowing deeper into his pillow.

"You're adorable." Sebastian said without his accent, knowing that Kurt was too far gone to notice. He slipped out of bed and pulled on his shorts before padding to the kitchen. He'd gotten a brief look at the flat on their way to the bedroom but now he could really appreciate how successful Kurt and Rachel must have been to afford such a place in this part of town. He whistled merrily to himself as he began cracking eggs into a bowl.

Sebastian's phone was on the night stand, retrieved from his trousers at some point during the night. The first time it rang Kurt ignored it, and the second he groaned, but the third time he rolled over and groped for the unseen, obnoxious object. Thankful that it was the same model as his, he swiped his thumb across the screen and put it to his ear. "Ethan's phone." He grumbled.

"Oh, I think I...Kurt?" Blaine said, recognizing Kurt's morning voice.

"Yes?" Kurt said, a bit slower on the uptake. "Who is this?"

"It's...it's Blaine. Why are you answering Sebastian's phone?" Blaine asked, voice trembling.

"Wha—no, you're mistaken. This is Ethan's phone." Kurt said, blinking rapidly and sitting up straight in his bed.

"Kurt." Blaine said softly. "Oh, Kurt. Tell me he didn't."

"Blaine, you aren't making any sense." Kurt said desperately.

"This is Sebastian's phone. Sebastian _Ethan_ Smythe." Blaine said, his temper flaring. "And he's a dead man."

* * *

Kurt walked into the kitchen, Sebastian's mobile still clutched in his hand and a robe wrapped around his body. "Good mornin', darlin'." Sebastian said cheerfully. "How does an omelette sound? Almost ready."

"I'm not hungry, Sebastian." Kurt said.

"You sure, I—" Sebastian's voice failed as Kurt's words sunk in. Kurt could hear the spatula fall to the tile. "Kurt."

"Sebastian." Kurt said, exhaling through his nose. "Did you—what—did you really Pillow Talk me?"

"What?" Sebastian blinked dumbly.

"Pillow Talk? 1959? Doris Day and Rock Hudson?" Kurt huffed. "Are you gay or aren't you?" Sebastian was still stunned into silence. "Why did you do it? It can't have been just about sex because you could have had that _weeks_ ago, as loathe as I am to admit it right now."

"No, it wasn't just about sex." Sebastian said, his voice small. "I...wanted a chance, Kurt. I knew you'd never give Sebastian one."

"Do you?" Kurt said, his voice broken. "Even with all the shit you've done, I never would have imagined you capable of something this despicable."

"Kurt..." Sebastian reached out but stopped halfway.

"I think you should go." Kurt said, clearly on the brink of tears even though his beautiful eyes were once again hidden behind glasses.

* * *

"So, have you written anything new?" Blaine asked awkwardly. It had been a month since the Kurt fiasco and after a heart-wrenching confession he'd managed to mostly forgive his partner, even if he still thought he was a terrible human being for putting Kurt through that ordeal.

"Sure." Sebastian said, eyes red and face unshaven. He gestured to the blank notebook on his desk. "Take your pick of fantastic climaxes to the third act." The television in their apartment was playing Pillow Talk for the hundredth time.

"Do we have to watch this?" Blaine groaned.

"Shut up and fuck off if you don't like it." Sebastian said.

"You still love him, don't you?" Blaine said. "Come on, you can admit it. It's just me. I know how easy it is to love Kurt, remember?"

"Yeah." Sebastian said quietly. "I love him." As if on cue Tony Randall chuckled from the screen: "But she won't talk to you."

"What're you going to do?" Blaine asked, knowing Sebastian well enough to know that this wasn't over yet.

"You have an apartment, she decorates apartments..." Sebastian repeated the movie's line.

"Uh, what? Kurt doesn't decorate apartments. I think we're shutting this off, now." Blaine said, reaching for the remote.

"No, but he _does_ do costume design. For, say, an up and coming Broadway show that is destined for a Tony this season. One that his ex-lover and close friend has written." Sebastian said, perking up immediately.

"Oh, nonononono. No way you can talk me into this." Blaine shook his head vigorously.

* * *

"I can't believe you talked me into this." Blaine sighed as he and Sebastian sat on the other side of Kurt's desk, waiting for the man in question.

"Gentlemen..." Kurt said coolly, stepping into the room and finding his chair with practiced ease. "Thank you for meeting me."

"You're not taking the contract, right?" Sebastian blurted, his voice cracking. He hadn't bothered with his appearance, knowing that his scruffy looks were as likely to gain him sympathy from Kurt as his slick polish would be to impress him.

"On the contrary. It would be career suicide to turn this down." Kurt said. "But I do have a few requests. The first is complete autonomy. I need your implicit trust in this."

"Uh..." Blaine said sceptically.

"Of course, where do I have to sign?" Sebastian said, quickly scrawling his signature across the paper on Kurt's desk. Blaine followed, far less enthusiastically.

"Kurt, we're kind of in your hands here. Please, personal feelings aside...this is professional." Blaine pleaded.

"Of course." Kurt said with a wicked smile.

* * *

The costumes were immaculate. Perfect for each character, cut and sewn to perfection, with flawless attention to every detail. Blaine felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him when he saw the final dress rehearsal. "Kurt is amazing." He breathed.

"I know." Sebastian said.

"I'll admit, I was a little scared. I mean, this would have been the perfect opportunity for payback." Blaine said.

"Kurt isn't that petty." Sebastian said confidently.

"Anderson and Smythe?" A pretty, college aged girl asked with two boxes in her arms.

"Yes." Blaine said, hoping that soon that name would have recognition all over town.

"Mr. Hummel sent these over with his compliments. For tonight." She said, giving them the boxes before scurrying off.

"Wow." Blaine said, opening the box with his name on it. "Oh, wow!" There was a sleek, black suit with a canary yellow bow tie and waistcoat that were so very Blaine. Sebastian ripped open his package and then gasped in shock. On a bed of tissue paper there was a pile of pink glitter and purple satin, trimmed with feathers and sequins. It was simply horrible and every insult Sebastian had ever thrown at Kurt in high school came rushing back.

"Holy shit." Blaine said, peeking over Seb's shoulder. "He must really hate you."

* * *

"And your uh...sartorial choices this evening?" The reporter asked Sebastian as he and Blaine stood outside the theatre, answering questions about their smash hit on opening night.

"It was a gift from someone very dear to me." Sebastian said, standing proudly in the pepto pink, sparkling suit. "I think it represents me to a tee, don't you?" He said, making the reporter giggle. "Seriously, though, I know I'm going to be on some sort of worst dressed list tomorrow and you know what I have to say to that? I hope it makes you feel good, bullying people for being who they are. And I hope you're well paid for it, but it's not going to stop me...it shouldn't stop anyone, from expressing themselves."

"Wow...uh, well said Mr. Smythe." The reporter said, awed by the sound bite she'd just landed. "And this represents you?" She asked.

"Well, yeah I guess it does." Sebastian chuckled. "It's fitting that I look like a walking valentines card, because I'm stupidly in love."

"Can we have the lucky man's name?" She asked, shoving the mic further into his face.

"I'm the lucky one." Sebastian said by way of an answer before flitting away.

* * *

"In love?" Kurt asked quietly, standing in Sebastian's doorway.

"How could you not know?" Sebastian answered, trying not to let hope take root. _He's here. Just be happy he's here._

"You love me." Kurt said, rolling the words on his tongue as thought tasting them.

"I think I always have. Since you stood up to me. Every time you showed how much...how much fucking _better_ than me you were." Sebastian said, looking like a fool in his sequined suit. "You're everything, Kurt. And everything I've said over the past few months has been true. I mean, not my name and obviously my job but...everything else. Everything I feel for you, everything we have in common. Yeah, I stacked the deck a little but fuck, Kurt, I just wanted to talk to you and I'm terrible at this. I mean, I don't _do _this sort of thing. But I think that's because it's always been you. I never grew out of being a dumb kid because I was just waiting for you and I'd already fucked that up. I know I have no right but, please, I—I—" He rambled rapidly.

"Shut up." Kurt said, hands finding the sides of Sebastian's face after a second of awkward groping. He pulled their mouths together in a desperate, consuming kiss that was more teeth and tongue than lips.

"What does this mean?" Sebastian said. Kurt could feel tears sliding down the other man's cheeks.

"It means I love you, too." Kurt whispered. "And your big, gay face."

"You must mean it if you can say it while I'm wearing this." Sebastian said, wrapping his arms around Kurt tightly. "Please tell me that this isn't just some elaborate form of revenge. I know I deserve it but I don't know if I can take it."

"The only revenge I'll take is showing our kids pictures of you in this outfit." Kurt smiled.

"Your name is on the label." Sebastian countered, cradling Kurt's jaw with his hand.

"I'm blind, I don't know any better." Kurt smirked.

"God, I missed this." Sebastian said before crushing their lips together again.

* * *

"**Like Someone In Love"** by Jimmy van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke.

Lately I find myself out gazing at stars  
Hearing guitars like someone in love  
Sometimes the things I do astound me  
Mostly whenever you're around me

Lately I seem to walk as though I had wings  
Bump into things like someone in love  
Each time I look at you, I'm limp as a glove  
And feeling like someone in love

Lately I seem to walk as though I had wings  
I bump into things like someone in love  
Each time I look at you, I'm limp as a glove  
And feeling like someone in love


End file.
